The 2009 Historic National Road Yard Sale

The 2009 Historic US 40 Yard Sale is fast approaching. We are excited to announce that this year's yard sale will again reach from Baltimore, MD to St. Louis, MO from May 27 - May 31.

This year's Dawn till Dusk sale is sure to be memorable and if you would like to learn more about specific areas along US 40, check out our online list of Indiana Convention & Visitor Bureaus along the Historic National Road.


Patricia McDaniel
Chair - Historic National Road Yard Sale
info@oldstorefrontantiques.com
765-478-4809

MANY HAPPY FLUSHES!!

For well over 50 years, individuals would stop at the Dublin Fire Station for their annual Fish Fry on their way to the Indy 500. The flavor of the hand-breaded haddock remained at the forefront of their tastebuds. So...on their way home, they stopped for another repast of this tasty morsel.

For the last several years, the date of the Fish Fry was held in conjunction with the Historic National Road Yard Sale.

It is with deep regret to announce that there will be NO Fish Fry this year.

The Historic National Road Yard Sale will be May 27-31, 2009 from Dawn Till Dusk. I still haven't received notification from the Town Officials if RESTROOMS will be available since there will be no Fish Fry.

Each year, the Historic National Road Yard sale increases in popularity. If the Town Officials are looking for a way in which to raise money with less overhead and advance preparation, I have the perfect solution!! WHY NOT RENT AND SELL PORTA JOHNS for the week and make them available to the public??  

Not  "free", of course, but charge a nominal amount to let the public use them.  Research has indicated that if no PUBLIC RESTROOMS are available, the average person will linger between 45 minutes to l hour. If a clean portable restroom trailer is available, the stay increases to 1 to 2 1/2 hours. If Porta Johns are available, people will shop at least 1 more hour.

Since this is a new venture for the Town Officials, my research has been based on the second option----rent PORTA JOHNS. And...all revenue generated will be kept in the community of Dublin, Indiana rather than having disappointed people head to Cambridge City.

Matt Osselaer, who works with Hudson Tool Rental of New Castle, Indiana sent specific facts and figures to both the Town Clerk as well as one of the Town Officials. He concurred with me that this was an excellant fund raiser in lieu of a Fish Fry. People will be able to shop for bargains along Historic US 40 as well as admire the newly-completed streetscape!

Parents with small children, senior citizens, and visitors who are physically challenged will all remember the kind and thoughtful courtesy embellished by Town Officials.

Matt also said that portable sinks and showers are available for those interested in spending several days. Matt also indicated that I was most flexible and reasonable to work with.

All that it required from the Town Officials is a little ingenuity and community participation to make this fundraiser a RESOUNDING success!! It's often quite warm in late May.  A gardening aficionado could install a several temporary water fountain which would not only provide a bit of coolness but also provide "encouragement" to the shopping public. The FFA could sell corn on the cob and recycle the cobs for an additional profit.  The Friends (Quaker) Church could sell Kellogg's Bran Bars (neatly prepackaged in strict adherence with the Indiana State Board Of Health) and hospital-sized bottles of prune juice.  Other churches and civic organigations could also sell items which would keep people busy as they browsed. 

While Many of the Town Officials think being a Bathroom Attendant is indicativative of the army, it's necessary to maintain a system of "shuts" and "opens" when people use the PORTA JOHNS. The Town Officials and their wives could work on a four-hour rotational basis from 5:00 AM till 9:00 PM. Each could have a personalized TOILET GRANNY or TOILET GRANDPA ID tag. Said TOILET GRANDPARENTS WOULD SEE THAT $1 was dropped in a ceramic or graniteware bedpan. When a patron leaves the PORTA JOHN, one of the TOILET GRANDPARENTS checks the stall for cleanliness. If such stall passes muster, the patron would receive a baby wipe with Aloae and E. (Pocketbooks and shopping bags would also receive a curosary scrutiny to be sure that no toilet paper was fleeced.)

Determinging the number of PORTA JOHNS needed is comprable to determining the number of slices of pizza at a kid’s birthday party. If there are 16 kids at a birthday party and one small pizza with 6 slices, is everyone going to be happy? Is there anything worse than an overflowing PORTA JOHN and the Historic National Road Yard Sale still in its infancy?

It's time for the Town Officials to get down to TOILI-ECONOMICS to determine how many PORTA JOHNS are needed:

1)  25 men visit a Porta John in one hour.
2)  8-10 women visit the same facility in 60 minutes.
3)  Should Potty Parity be considered since women require twice the time of men?
4)  An average portable toilet is able to hold enough sewage for 10 people during the      course of a 40 hour work week before the hold reaches unhealthy conditions.  
    a. The statistics for the Historic National Road Yard Sale have been determined         for 6 days. (This includes one day for setting up and taking down tables, etc.)
    b. There are 16 hours per day based on the time from Dawn Till Dusk or a total of
         96 hours.
 5)  If $1 per person per visit is charged (no discount for children under the age of 12),
       how many PORTA JOHNS will be needed for the Town Officials to make a profit?
     a. Since this would be their first year employing this procedure, it would be          reasonable to determine that this hypothesis would be a crap shoot----          LITERALLY & FIGURITIVLY!!

Town Officials could consult any of the following publications to see if their statistics, finances, and sanitation standards corroborate with the following official publications: (1) Sanitation News; (2) The Pumper; and (3) PRO=Portable Restroom Operators.

If the Town Officials wish to make $$ and reduce their initial investment, it's possible for them to consider the Honey Bucket . The Honey Bucket got its name from the actual 5-GALLON (19 LITRE) buckets which were once used as containers for HONEY.  Paints, cleaners, solvents, and instutional-sized cans of FOOD PRODUCTS may be used.

There is plenty of time for the Town Officials to begin saving CONTAINERS now!!

The origin of the name "Honey Bucket" came from when a miner found a large chunk of gold. He threw it in a barrell which was used as a toilet. The gold was similar to that of honey, and the bucket being the toilet, hence the name "Honey Bucket".

This simple device consists of a seat on a container of water with a solution of chemicals used to disinfect and/or deodorize. The Town Officials might also consider placing the Honey Bucket in a wooden frame since it might be difficult for some yard sale patrons to squat.  If no flush toilets are available, the Honey Bucket will be used in place of a FLUSH TOILET since the community will lack a public water-borne SEWAGE SYSTEM for visitors to use during the Historic National Road Yard Sale.  

The Honey Bucket is emptied, usually about once a week into a HONEY BUCKET WELL or HOPPER. A HONEY BUCKET WELL is a hole in the ground capped with a raised wooden enclosure.

A HOPPER is a metal container which is then removed by the VILLAGE AUTHORITY to a larger dumping area. (In the case of Dublin, Indiana, there are 5 Town Officials and one Town Clerk.  Perhaps there could be a bit of equanimity?) Other euphemisms for the Honey Bucket are Cesspool Emptier, Cesspool Engineer, Honey Truck, or Honey Wagon.

The community of Dublin has yet to establish any type of festival.  

There is ample yardage between the Dublin Fire Station and the brick building on the corner. If the Town Officials DO DECIDE to have PORTA JOHNS, sinks, and showers, they could easily consider giving the area a specific name. In fact, a prize could be offered for the most original!!

A few suggestions already include:

1)  Many Happy Flushes
2)  Seymour Butts
3)  Skip To My Loo
4)  Honey Bun Lane
5)  Pixie Plus
6)  There's A Scent In The Air
7)  PORTA JOHN Are A Many Splendored Thing

Each year a Little John and Little Miss Honey Bucket could be crowned.

A Senior Toilet Granny and Toilet Grandpa could receive TOILET SEAT LIDS with the festival dates EMBOSSED on the top of the lid.

To commemorate this bucketful of an event, the Town Council could have golden flags with a brown honey bucket as its insignia below the American flag.

Who knows? The Town Council might win the Loo Of The Year Award???

Anyway, Thomas Crapper would be mighty proud!!

AND A WORD OF THANKS...

Plans are already underway for the Sixth Annual Historic National Road
Yard Sale which will extend for 824 miles from ST Louis To Baltimore
MD. The dates for this event are May 27-31,2009 from Dawn Till Dusk.

And...Indiana claims 157 miles of bargains!!

With a taught economy, it's important for EVERYONE to consider stretching their budget either unloading or purchasing items. Wayne County has been especially helpful from the inception of this event when there were only 37 miles to traverse from Richmond to Knightstown.

It's always appropriate to thank individuals who help in many ways. 
Special cudos to the beginning of a TERRIFIC 2009 crew!! 
Those of you who have already started your engines include: Wildwood
Cottage Shop, Gene, Brian and Joan Wallen; John and Sheri Jent; The Old Trunk,
Connie Pendleton; Cambridge City Public Library; Centerville Public Library; Connersville Public Library; Jeff Hubbard; Programming And Micros; Donna Tauber; Marvin Schroeder; Nancy Briggs Carlson, Ball State University; Wayne County CVB; Dr. and Mrs. James Bertch; Ted Roberson;  Bill Gebhardt, Belmount County (Ohio) Tourism office, and especially the Palladium Item.

There are also the many individuals along US 40 who diligently set ups paces with a sundry of wares from which people may select. If it were not for this loyal contingent, would there even be a Historic National Road Yard Sale?

This event has garnered every sort of media venu (National, Regional, State, and Local excepting National TV. THIS IS THE YEAR TO REACH THIS CHALLENGE!! If anyone has a friend, relative, or friend of a relative who is able to cut the red tape and provide me with the name of a contact of a producer of a National TV Show, please e-mail me at: info@oldstorefrontantiques.com or call 765-478-4809.

Robert Walker, master gournand of Double B's Barbecue from Richmond In will be serving some EXCELLANT barbecue in Dublin at Old Storefront Antiques The Media Center for the event). A FULL dinner will be served to anyone who achieves this goal!!


THINK RIBS!!

Patricia
McDaniel