VERO BEACH — They began to gather in the parking lot outside the Harvest Thrift Center in Vero Beach Saturday morning, unloading folding tables and boxes of items hauled out of storage in garages and spare rooms. They hoped to sell a few items, putting cash back in their pockets.
Peggie Eveskcite had three tables laden with various knickknacks. She said the $10 setup fee for the community yard sale at the thrift center drew her attention because it could cost $30 just to advertise her own sale.
Besides, she wants to support the Harvest Thrift Center, which helps the needy in Indian River County.
Eveskcite said she hoped to sell some items so to raise money have the chairs to her dining set repaired.
Friends Ruth Burk and Sandy Lindsey heard about the yard sale and decided to check it out.
“It’s a beautiful day,” Burk said.
She purchased a small cobbler’s hammer. Lindsey bought a Stuart Woods novel, “Hot House Orchid.”
“I needed a hammer really bad,” Burk said, noting that the small hammer would be perfect for hitting nails into the drywall in her apartment.
For Lindsey, finding the novel was a bonus.
“I have every book he writes,” she said – noting the one she picked up and evaded her until now.
Theresa Ooley, regional manager at the center, said Saturday could have been the last of the yard sales until after the start of the year due to permitting restrictions.
“We want to do it year-round,” Ooley said of the community yard sales, but they need a special event permit from the city. As it stands, they’re allowed only three such permits each year.
“People are trying to make ends meet,” she said of why the center decided to host yard sales.
Ooley said the yard sales not only serve as a way for people to make a few dollars off their unwanted items, but also to help raise the public’s awareness of the Harvest Thrift Center.
The thrift center is located at 2746 US 1, next door to the Harvest Food and Outreach Center.