In an effort to serve many out-of-state shoppers and collectors who like to shop both the Route 127 Sale and the BUY-WAY, the OLHHC (Ohio Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor) has chosen the "first full weekend (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) in August" to be the criteria foe establishing future years' BUY-WAY Yard Sale dates. Next year, 2010, will therefore be August 5, 6 and 7. The OLHHC also announced today that there will be mini-seminars held in April of 2009 in various Lincoln Highway communities to help anyone plan and set up a yard sale event for next year.

(Ohio) — From a meager beginning of 250 yard sales the first year, to over 750 last year...and over a staggering 1,000 individual pull-off yard sale events this year, many people we talked to shared the same ideas...1) that this was the biggest and best yard sale yet, and 2) this year's opening day, Thursday, was the biggest Thursday...or even the biggest day--ever.

Almost everyone said sales were up, traffic was up, and the money was up!
Many people also commented observations like "the BUY-WAY Yard Sale this year turned a corner," "jumped an octave in energy," or "created a new sense of community."

While some communities actually rested somewhat this year with a lesser population of sales, many others were more populated. Small communities like Leesville, Gomer, Oceola and Robertsville were almost wall-to-wall yard sales. Many included the wonderful aroma of hot dogs and sausages on the grill, and many had coolers of bottled water...many free for the asking.

This year's BUY-WAY poster child was Van Wert. They have both the Route 127 sale AND the Lincoln Highway sale in town for three days. And, it was they, themselves, who extended the invitation to the Rt. 127 folks (who had never even thought of extending their yard sale that far north before), and added fairgrounds activities--flea markets, a rib cook-off, a free concert, a cruise-in, a car show, a tractor drive, making for full hotels, happily "slammed" restaurants, busy gas stations and other retails, over 300 yard sales (many as big as 30 vendors in one stop), and called it a CROSSROADS Festival.

Other towns hosted village-wide sales, so a person could actually spend the day driving around town shopping. Ada, and Upper Sandusky were examples of this.

I think this event is now running on its own juice. Now let us see if indiana, Illinois, Iowa and other Lincoln Highway states grab on to the branded name "BUY-WAY" and keep it going across America next year!