CARIBOU, Maine — The annual Caribou City Wide Yard Sale is a time for dickerers to dig for newfound treasures.
One location on Saturday filled with happy hagglers was the American Legion Riders post 15 charity yard sale, held every year on the Legion parking lot on Herschel Street.
The morning crowd may have been held off due to the weather, but as the sun broke through the clouds things started to pick up.
All proceeds from the charity yard sale go to local veterans charities like the Wounded Warrior Project, and to help homeless veterans.
“We like to help the vets and give them respect,” director of the American Legion Riders Larry Robichaud said, “There’s a lot of veterans in need and vets who come home from war need help getting things together.”
Alongside tables covered in books, clothes and relics like VHS tapes was the Legion BBQ that served up hot dogs to hungry shoppers.
Over on River Road, Phil Trombley and Carol Johnston held their yard sale for the fifth year in a row. Trombley’s old mechanic shop was filled to the brim with clutter, which they both hoped would turn into cash, “There’s a little bit of everything here,” Johnston said.
Trombley said he wheels and deals in whatever he can get, “I like the haggle. It’s just fun.” Piles of tools, old TVs, books, pottery and more lined the walls in a fashion that can only be described as organized chaos, “Another man’s junk is another person’s treasure,” Trombley said.
Taking the opportunity to not really sift through all of Trombley’s stuff, but rather to catch up with old friends was Caribou resident Eileen Forbes. She was on the hunt for clothes for her grandchildren. Forbes said she enjoys the fun of hopping from one yard sale to the next and seeing people she hasn’t seen in a long time.
As Saturday progressed roadsides were filled with parked cars leaving motorists to pass at their own risk, and moms muckled on to their kids as they darted from lawn to lawn hoping to find old toys still in good shape.
The three days of dickering duels came to an end Sunday, and with the roads clear of cars all that was left were the various fluorescent signs that pointed shoppers down side streets, which may remain on poles until the city wide yard sale returns next year.
