Little piece of long yard sale

There's nothing that brings out the bargain hunter like an old-fashioned yard sale.

But what if there was a national garage sale and nobody showed up?

Well, there is a national garage sale this weekend along Highway 50 -- in theory, along all 3,037 miles of it.

But while few people from Maryland to California may know about the national event, there will be a heck of a garage sale in Mound House, if nowhere else.

Bill Ritenour, at the Antique Mall in Mound House, decided to participate after reading about the U.S. 50 Coast to Coast Yard Sale in a local chamber of commerce newsletter and ended up as state coordinator for the event.

Ritenour said much of the space around his building and around other businesses in Mound House will be taken up by people hawking everything from a "lawnmowers to a horse-drawn carriages."

"I think it's going to be a very big thing," Ritenour said. "The public goes goofy for that stuff, finding them treasures. You ought to see my wife. She leaves in the morning and comes back with enough stuff to have a garage sale."

Arline Cronk, of Carson City, will be at the Antique Mall, trying to unload coins, stamps, Beanie Babies and some furniture. She said she has too much extra stuff on hand from her 2000 move to Nevada from Maryland and needs "to start getting rid of stuff."

Cronk, a diabetic, plans to give 10 percent of her proceeds to the National Diabetes Foundation.

Ritenour figured people throughout the state would be setting up for the event. However, except for Larry Osborne, Carson Area Chamber of Commerce executive director, chamber of commerce representatives from Ely to South Lake Tahoe said while they had heard of the event, they knew of no one in their communities participating.

Ritenour said he knows of individuals participating along the western corridor of Highway 50. Even chamber representatives in Indiana, the home of the original event, said they knew of no one involved. Osborne said the Carson chamber "put the word out" but isn't necessarily participating in the event.

"Crazier ideas have gotten started in Nevada," Osborne said. "It would be great if someday we would have something from the East Coast to the West Coast. We definitely hope next year will get bigger."

Promoted on the Web site, www.route50.com, the event is touted as a way for Highway 50 lovers to promote tourism along the historic coast-to-coast road. The event, which isn't sponsored by any particular group and is coordinated by a Tom Taylor, of North Vernon, Ind., started three years ago as a garage sale across Indiana. The Web site also recommends using the event to promote community recycling, businesses or for fund-raisers.

Anyone interested in participating must have permission from a Highway 50 property owner to put items out and must stay off public road right-of-way. Call Ritenour at 246-1618 for information.

If you go:

What: Highway 50 Coast to Coast Yard Sale

When: Friday through Sunday

Where: along Highway 50 in Mound House

For information, call 246-1618. Head to the Web at www.route50.com.