Hartford townwide yard sale next weekend

By Jaime Thomas

From tag sales to flowers and history to food, there will be a little something of everything at this weekend’s town wide yard sale in Hartford.

On Saturday, Aug. 10 and Sunday, Aug. 11, around 50 homes throughout the town will display all sorts of items on their lawns and driveways for others to browse through and buy.

Bonnie Williamson, owner of As Time Goes By and event organizer, said the yard sale usually attracts a large crowd that live in Hartford or come from out of town and sellers are usually pleased with their profit.

“It’s packed; it’s one of my better weekends,” Williamson said. She said locals this year will be offering a variety of items, including furniture, antiques, a lot of clothing for children and adults, a lot of house wear, jewelry, home décor and plants.

“There’s lots of good stuff, lots of bargains—a nice variety,” she said. While there are a lot of sales on Main Street, there are plenty of others elsewhere in town as well.

“Everybody seems to enjoy coming down and into our small town, looking around and finding some good bargains,” Williamson said.

For those wanting to make a day of it during the weekend, the Masons will hold a chicken barbeque on Sunday from 11 a.m. until they sell out. The meal, which will be offered at the parking lot adjacent to the Stewart’s Shop on Route 40, will be offered as either a half chicken for $5 or $9 for a full dinner.

Other snacks will be for sale throughout the weekend at a Boy Scout food booth near the Hartford post office.

Another event during the weekend will be a flower show on Saturday at the Masonic lodge. The Tri-County Branch, Women’s National Farm and Garden Association will present this annual show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The historical highlight of the weekend will be an open house at the Civil War Museum on Main Street on Saturday. This 1800s house has a variety of items on display, including such documents as letters exchanged between Civil War soldiers and their families in Hartford, among other artifacts.

At As Time Goes By, Williamson said she’ll have an assortment of clothing and other wears on sale.

“I’ll have a lot of country stuff marked down,” she said.

And don’t worry about needing a place to use the bathroom; Town Supervisor Dana Haff has it covered. He arranged for two portable toilets to be put out from a local business, “Loos on the Lot”, to be set up in front of the South Hartford Congregational Church and the museum.

Maps of sale locations will be available at As Time Goes By, Stewart’s Shop and at What’s Cookin’. For more information call Williamson at 632-5166.