Jul 14, 2002 By Josh Krysak 5 min read

BOBTOWN – On All-Town Yard Sale day, Marie Ellenberger sits comfortably under a shade tree in front of the Bobtown United Methodist Church, her eyes bright, her smile constant as she watches hundreds of shoppers and bargain-hunters stroll by. “Every year it gets bigger,” she says as a girl comes up to purchase a dozen pepperoni rolls. Ellenberger, a Bobtown resident for more than 50 years, usually makes about 80 dozen pepperoni rolls, and she usually sells every one.

Ellenberger, with the help of another Bobtown native, Kitty Friend, created the Bobtown All-Town Yard Sale 14 years ago and the two have watched it grow every year since.

The event now encompasses the entire town the second Saturday in July.

“People schedule their vacations around this day,” said Ellenberger.

This quiet little coal mining community, founded in the mid-1920s, bustles with activity Friday night as tables go up and oddities and treasures of all sorts are pulled from attics and basements. Early Saturday morning, the sale begins, sometimes before the sellers are ready.

“People were out there at 6:30 asking her when she was going to start,” said Gary Polosky, a lifelong resident. His wife, Carol, has earned a reputation for her famous funnel cakes, a staple at the event for four years.

“She’ll be sold out by 1 or 2 p.m. She’ll make over 200 cakes,” he said.

“I waited in line for 20 minutes,” said Bobtown resident Laura Sarapa, “and it is delicious.”

Ellenberger and Friend said they can’t believe how big the event has become but are happy that it has become such a trademark of the community.

“When it first started out it was just a couple yard sales, but now people are selling food and organizations have joined in, and it’s a good fund-raiser for them,” Ellenberger said.

The sale now extends to the entire town and has spread to some outlying areas. The All-Town idea has also caught on in other communities as well. “They have one in Greensboro and Cabbage Flats,” said Ellenberger, but she notes that Bobtown was first.

Ellenberger said she began the sale to “have something to do,” but now admits it has become something more.

“People see people they haven’t seen and you see them hugging each other. They come from far and wide and they’ve gotten to know us and we’ve gotten to know them. It’s just a real fun day,” she said.

Friend echoes Ellenberger’s sentiments: “I like to meet people and I enjoy the excitement and the fellowship.”

Ellenberger said most families make $300 to $800, with one family making almost $1,000 every year.

The town’s population of around 1,000 people nearly doubles on All-Town Yard Sale day, and people attend from Virginia, Delaware and New York. Kelly Wilkins, a Bobtown resident, sells hotdogs every year and she has seen vehicles from many states come in on sale day. “I’ve seen people strapping furniture to trucks from out of state,” she said.

Wilkins, who works at Ruby Memorial Hospital, has sold hotdogs every year since the event began. She, too sells every single one she cooks, and one year after she sold all her hotdogs, people began to ask her if she would simply sell them her famous chili sauce. She sold cups of sauce for 50 cents. Now she recognizes the people when they come up.

“It is the same people who stop every year and some new faces, too,” she said.

One new face, Brian Quarrick of Uniontown, was happy with his find: an old well pump.

“I’ll either put it in the yard in a flower bed or in one of our water gardens,” he said.

Quarrick, who was looking for “whatever catches my eye,” was impressed with the sale.

“I think every little community ought to do it,” he said.

Angie Barzanti and her mother, Janice, have set up a booth for the sale the last 10 years.

According to Janice, most people want clothes or tools, but she admits some people have odd requests. One year she sold some sheets of drywall that were along the house for $5 apiece, and they hadn’t even been for sale.

“This year it was marbles and pop bottles,” she said.

Angie said she was just trying to sell her stuffed pig but had no takers. Although she doesn’t enjoy all the work that goes into sale day, her mother loves it.

“I get rid of junk I didn’t want and someone pays me for it,” she said.

Josh Sapp of Smithfield was smiling, too, as he hauled away his prize, a pedal go-cart he found for $10. “I’m going to go ride it around my house,” the youngster said.

According to Ellenberger, this year’s sale was the biggest yet. But it’s not the size that matters to Ellenberger or to many other Bobtown residents, like Wilkins.

“This is a really safe, nice environment and it’s a real community. Everyone is a friend, and that is what I want to raise my children in,” she said.