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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
When Wellesley’s town-wide yard sale was moved from Morses Pond to a handful of private residences because of a lack of seller participation, one would think the participants would be upset about having to host so many people at their homes and losing out on customers that wanted to make a beach day of it.
Instead, most of the sellers appreciated the ease with which they could set up their stuff, multitask as they sold their goods, and determine how long they wanted their sale to go.
Sue Stewart’s setup involved a lot of kid’s clothes and toys. From her driveway, filled with racks of Halloween costumes and sweaters, some vases and the occasional framed piece of art, she explained how she liked the new system and hoped Wellesley does it this way next year, as well.
“It would be great next year if they just offered it this way,” she said, “and then I think more people would sign up. It’s hard to lug things to Morses Pond.”
Sarah Bua opted to play some music as she sat on a lawn chair outside of her garage. She also reiterated the ease of having the sale at her house, while pointing out that her setup was based on books, furniture, board games and some electronics.
“I was psyched [the event moved], because we didn’t have to bring our things all the way to the pond - we could set up things at home,” she explained. “Our marquee items are the huge beanbag chairs, the electric guitar amp, a couple of brand-new Fitbits. But shoes and clothes were some of our most popular items along with board games.”
By far, the day’s most interesting assortment of goods was at Beth Wellington’s house. Set up on the porch of her more than a century-old house, Wellington was making lunch during the brief window in which someone wasn’t trying to buy something from her. The reason she had so many people buying things was because she had so much fascinating stuff. Ranging from vintage dolls to old wooden tennis rackets, Wellington’s marquee item was an Indian sitar made by the same company that made George Harrison’s.
“It’s a sitar from India that was made by the same workshop in Delhi as the one that made George Harrison’s in 1971,” she said. “I’m selling it for 100 bucks. It’s gorgeous. I just thought I’d bring it out to blow people’s minds. I don’t think anyone will buy it. It’s just cool to see and that’s what this is. I bring out all my original vintage things, things from the past. I have the original Barbie, you know, interesting stuff you’re never going to see again. I have a Pan-Am bag from when people got these every time they travelled on the aircraft. All blasts form the past.”
Despite what Wellington thought, the sitar didn’t have much time to blow anyone’s minds, as it was immediately snatched up by a guy who put it in his minivan.
And, unlike how the yard sale functioned in years past, he simply threw it in the back of his car and left. No hiking necessary.
