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2021 Town Wide Yard Sale
Treasure hunting in the yard sales of Oriental
May 5, 2021

O
nce a year, Oriental’s residents take stock of homes, garages, and sometimes a storage unit or two in preparation for the annual Town Wide Yard Sale. The goal? Deciding what items stay and which ones will go into the sales.

This year, more than 90 households joined the event. Yards throughout Oriental, out in Dolphin Point, and several on Kershaw Road sported racks, tables, and blankets displaying goods in need of a new home.

At the end of a long Saturday of buying and selling, organizer and event promoter Marsha Paplham said sellers told her “it had been nothing less than a great success.”

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
Good is relative, or one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.
2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
When in doubt, ask what it is. Here, the answer is sail boat steering vane.
2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
Items for sale invite browsers to do more than cruise by making a quick inventory. Some yards beckon would-be buyers with displays of color and variety.

Some purchases are made only after serious consultation.

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
Yes or No?

Some sales presented buyers with a range of choices.

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
Glenwood Tyndall is always a good sport for a photo op. He pretends to be contemplating which style will better complement his wardrobe.

A few displays were crafty in the juxtaposition of items for sale.

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
The family selling old LPs had a diverse cultural background in music, from spicy salsa to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

It’s been said that “nothing happens until money changes hands.” This was the case for one game show loving seller.

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The process of deal-making: the pitch, contemplation, striking a deal. And in the end, something happened; money changed hands.

As spring and summer advance, fall fashions were a bargain.

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
No dressing rooms were available. Customers had to decide if garments would fit by observation.

The background in an image can reveal more than the foreground…

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
Is the potential customer in the background subtly hoping the current customer chooses something else?

For the large ticket items, shipping and handling were accommodated.

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How you arrive determines how much you can take home.

Rare items can be found at yard sales. In this instance, the world’s first Global Positioning System.

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
Don Henderson illustrates use of a sextant he had for sale.

An Oriental version of the High Point Furniture Market.

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
Chairs good for posture if not for comfort.

It was natural to find vessels for sale at a yard sale in a village by the sea.

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
In a village known for sailing, kayaking is becoming increasingly popular.

Fishing items were also popular.

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
A fisherman examines a reel.

With the June wedding season approaching, prospective brides were shopping.

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
Bridal gowns were offered for sale at more than one venue.

Some vendors specialized in “experienced” home improvement products.

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
Slightly used sliding doors for sale.

A decades old wayward purchase finds its way to every Town Wide Yard Sale. Frank Roe said his wife, Jennifer, bid for a few lighting fixtures at a going-out-of-business auction. She didn’t realize she was bidding for a trailer load of fixtures. “For ten years,” he said, “I have been trying to move these things.”

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
Frank Rowe said, pointing to a tag on a lighting fixture which revealed a retail price of $260. “I’ll sell it for $45 but give me a twenty and it’s yours.”

A Towndock photographer being photographed by the internationally acclaimed award wining photojournalist, Andrea Bruce, now a resident of Oriental.

2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
Washington Post photographer Josh Lott, who covers the Chicago beat for that publication, was checking out sales on South Avenue.
2021 Oriental Townwide Yardsale
A wooden star, a woven basket, even a neon purple palm tree. It was all up for grabs in the yards of Oriental.

Posted Wednesday May 5, 2021 by Allison DeWeese


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