‘Old, junky look’ hot at 100-mile-long garage sale

In the days leading up to the ninth annual KanOkla 100 Mile Highway Sale, John Wade was sorting through old stuff to sell at his place south of Independence.

What people seem to want in the current world of antiques, collectibles and coveted castaways is what Wade calls “barn-style junk”: old buckets and cans, wash tubs, well pumps.

“They want the old, junky look,” said the 65-year-old, who has been buying and selling antiques and collectibles for 30 years.

“I had a fella come through the other day,” Wade begins, as he tells how the visitor bought old, partly rusty metal containers that will have a new purpose – as laundry bins.

Wade will be one of hundreds of sellers – some buyers are coming from as far away as California and Florida – at this year’s KanOkla sale. The sellers will be offering everything from antiques to name-brand clothing to any kind of garage-sale item. They’ll be selling from vacant lots, road-side trailer beds, folding tables under shade trees, fresh-cut lawns and well-known antiques stores.

The sale is Sept. 9 and 10, although some vendors are setting up for Labor Day. The more-than-100-mile sales route encompasses the southeast Kansas towns of Caney, Coffeyville, Dearing, Independence and Tyro and the northeast Oklahoma towns of Bartlesville, Copan, Delaware, Dewey, Lenapah and Nowata.

Buyers can stop anywhere along the route and look for treasures. Some sellers set stuff out in their yards; others organize and sell from group sites complete with portable toilets.

In each town, shoppers can stop at antiques stores and convenience stores and ask for maps of specific sales locations, said Sandra Marshall, one of the main organizers. Marshall will be offering items from her antiques store in Dewey, Okla.

Most towns will have 50 to 60 sales spots on the map, Marshall said.

The sale will be held rain or shine, she said.

Marshall has her own observations about what seems to be popular now. “Re-purposing is a hot seller now,” she said. By “re-purposing,” she means, for example, taking old doors and making headboards or shelves out of them, fashioning shelves out of shutters or turning beds into benches.

Another observation: Nice old oak furniture that couldn’t be given away a few years ago seems to be making a comeback, Marshall said.

And automotive stuff is still sought after.

Besides the entertainment value and the outlet for sellers, the sale boosts local economies through the money spent on fuel, lodging and food, Marshall said.

She knows of a group of retirees who come to the show each year with their campers.

This is the time of year when regional sales like the KanOkla one are being held across the Midwest, and buyers and sellers travel from one to another, Marshall said.

On County Road 3900, about 5 miles south of Independence, Wade’s place is a popular stop. Some of the dealers and collectors who buy from Wade know him as “Preacher John,” because he is a minister.

He said he tries to provide a variety of old stuff. “I try to please everybody.”

He’s got Old West stuff for people who like that. They’re looking for items like worn saddles and harnesses.

Among other items he will be offering this year: century-old issues of Harper’s Weekly.

Wade finds his stuff at auctions and salvage yards and through word of mouth. He buys at a price low enough to sell to dealers, who then offer it for more.

A few years ago, he was in Cherryvale when he noticed a man with a truckload of junk. One thing caught Wade’s eye: an old wheelbarrow with a wooden frame and metal wheel. It had nice red paint. To Wade, it had the right look.

“I have no shame,” he said. So he ran up and asked the junk hauler about the wheelbarrow. The man told Wade he could have it. And Wade turned around and sold it.

Junk isn’t junk anymore.

“What they’re buying today is the stuff antique dealers left at the sales 30 years ago and didn’t bother to take home,” Wade noted.

“Now it has value.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2016 at 4:32 PM with the headline "‘Old, junky look’ hot at 100-mile-long garage sale."