Highway 15 will be bustling with activity this weekend as the fall edition of the Highway 15 Yard Sale takes place Oct. 2-5 along the 120 miles of roadway from Maben to Newton.
Here in Newton County, it’s common to see a smattering of vendors or families set up alongside Highway 15 on Thursday, with more and more vendors setting up on Fridays and through the weekend. Popular shopping areas within the county in the past few years have been at the Union Flea Market and the Legion Hut in Decatur, where a large number of vendors are set up selling everything from antiques to food. That’s not to say some great deals or merchandise can’t be found elsewhere alongside the highway.
Getting its start nine years ago, the Highway 15 Yard Sale has grown by leaps and bounds since its beginning. According to Timothy Bozeman, who has led the way to making this event what it is today, the yard sale is a huge positive for Newton County and brings lots of revenue to the area.
“It gets people out of their houses. We’re getting people from seven to eight different states that coming here to shop. We had folks fly out from California and rent a car to come visit us last year. And the communities benefit from this,” said Bozeman. “I know last year in Union, we were getting 600-700 cars a day come through there, so not only is everyone that’s set up to sell benefiting, but you’ve got motels, gas station, restaurants that all these people are going to.”
The Highway 15 Yard Sale Facebook page, which Bozeman uses to coordinate the vendors taking part and creating a map for shoppers to find what they’re looking for, has grown to nearly 16,000 members. Not bad for a page that only had 500 members when he first took it over nine years ago.
“Without the use of social media, as well as the help of Larry Blackburn, Larry Friend, and the many vendors that help to push this thing, there’s no way this could succeed,” he said. “Everybody has shared posts; they liked posts and promoted this thing to where it is today.”
While the Highway 15 Yard Sale is thriving between Union and Decatur, Bozeman said he’d love to see Newton have more than a few vendors set up.
“Newton is the place we always wanted it to start,” Bozeman said. “You have people coming off of Interstate 20 and it would the perfect location.” Bozeman said that only around four vendors set up in Newton last May.
According to Newton City Clerk Charlene Evans, the parking lot of the former the former Pioneer Hospital on Highway 15 in Newton is available for use by families or vendors to set up for the Highway 15 Yard Sale. Those interested in setting up in the lot this weekend would only have to come by Newton City Hall and sign a waiver.
With an expected forecast of perfect weather for Oct. 2-5, the Highway 15 Yard Sale will be the place to be, with thousands of items priced to move, such as household goods, adult and kids clothing, antiques, collectibles, toys, games, furniture and more.
For more information,visit the Highway 15 Yard Sale Facebook page.
