The borough of Centre Hall’s claim to fame is the Grange Fair held in August of each year for the past 139 years.
The event brings thousands of people to the town each year, but running a close second for packing the town with people is the Town Wide Yard Sale Days event held each year on the last full weekend in June. This year’s event was held on June 28 and 29. This event has been an annual tradition since the mid-1980’s, when some local business owners formed the Centre Hall Business Owners Association, and came up with the idea of having a town wide yard sale event. Borough councilman Joe Hammaker once said: “They were in charge back then, but now nobody’s in charge — it just happens.”
It “just happened” in a big way this year, as huge crowds of bargain hunters filled every street in the town. Residential side streets that are normally lightly traveled spawned bumper-to-bumper traffic jams of shopper’s vehicles. One shopper commented: “You can hardly walk through town, and you might as well forget about driving on these streets.”
Nearly all the town’s side streets and alleys were dotted with sales, and Pennsylvania Avenue (state Route 144) was populated with sales from Old Fort to the foot of Mount Nittany. The sheer concentration of yard sales in the town makes it a haven for yard sale patrons. A conservative estimate is that nearly 150 sales are happening simultaneously, turning the town into a giant yard sale shopping mall. Items for sale include just about everything. Clothing, house wares, furniture, vehicles, electronics, lawn mowers, bicycles and even kitchen sinks were offered up for sale at bargain prices. One sale even included a dusty barn-find doctor’s buggy from the 1800s.
Josh and Doris Tobey held their first yard sale at their newly-constructed home on Grandview Road. “We cleaned out our attic when we moved. I found stuff I didn’t even know was there,” said Josh Tobey.
Shoppers included local residents, people from all over Centre County, and some who hailed from places like Altoona, Belleville and McVeytown.
The sales have become family traditions for many in Centre Hall. Some residents have held sales at their homes for decades. Now their grown children arrive for the sales with the grandkids in tow, in vehicles packed full of used items to sell. They visit the old neighborhood, meet some old friends, and make a few dollars.
Not all the sales are held for personal profit. The churches in town turn their front lawns into roadside cafes, serving up sandwiches, soft drinks, and ice cream to raise money for various charity and mission projects. Bethany United Methodist Church in Tusseyville held a sale at a home on Manor Road. Church member, Randy Muthersbaugh said that all the sale items and food were donated by church members and neighbors in the Tusseyville area.
The event has become large enough to attract outside craft and food vendors. Many food trailers were parked along Pennsylvania Avenue, filling the air with the enticing aromas of hot sausage, French fries and cinnamon buns, among other delights.
