By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Don Jacobs and his crew of family and friends have been pulling over for every garage sale sign so it’s a good thing that his former school bus is emblazoned with “Caution! Frequent Stops” on the back door.
Friday served as the second day of the Lincoln Highway Buyway sales and Jacobs and his school bus riders were making their way through Crawford County.
“That’s what I bought the best for – so we could do this,” said a grinning Jacobs. “That’s only the reason I bought the bus.”
Jacobs, who is from Tiffin, said his group of six is headed to Canton where they have hotel rooms waiting for them. The road warriors are no strangers to the Lincoln Highway Buyway.
“Every year. Take Friday off work and go,” Jacobs said. “Just go and enjoy it. It’s addicting, but it’s a lot of fun. I get with my best, my daughter-in-law, my wife Krista. We just have a good time doing it.”
Just like Jacobs, people travel from all over to cruise down Lincoln Highway, but it’s vendors like Rita Middleton and Steve Hoover that they come to see.
Middleton, a Bucyrus resident, had tables set up under the trees at the corner of Lincoln Highway and Marion-Melmore Road. She is no stranger to the Highway Buyway, having participated in it with her husband since the sale’s inception.
“My husband, he just loves this,” Middleton said. “I like it, but it’s a lot of work.”
She said buyers usually start rolling in around daylight, but she’s not bothered by the hard work that goes in to it.
“It’s really fun, I like it. Like yesterday when I left here, I went to McDonald’s and got something to eat. A little boy in there goes, ‘I know you from that yard sale!’” Middleton laughingly said.
Hoover is another long-time Lincoln Highway Buyway seller.
“I like to sell extra things and meet people,” said Hoover. “I’ve been doing this since 2000.”
Saturday is the final day of the Lincoln Highway Buyway sales.
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