A tribute to yard sale hosts

Yard sale, garage sale, rummage sale, tag sale, lawn sale, moving sale, junk sale — whatever you want to call them, the sales are a common sight everywhere. All are names for the sale of used goods by an average person who is selling unwanted items for a little extra money.

These sales have humble beginnings. Rummage Sales developed in the 1500s as ship captains sold excess and unclaimed cargo at ports. In the 1800s, churches began hosting sales to raise money. As Americans started moving to the suburbs in the 1940s and ’50s, they had added space to accumulate more belongings, and garage sales became popular. By 1970, the sales had become very common, and today, with the internet making advertising for the sales easier, they are as popular as ever.

I recently participated in Randolph’s town-wide, two-day yard sale, but I lasted just one day. It was my very first time being a yard sale host — and my last. The miserable heat and high humidity had sweat running into my eyes. An hour or two would have been bearable, but a nine-hour day out in that was unbearable for me. It takes stamina and grit to get the job done.