By:Nick D’Amore
The annual Evans Tract garage sale is a mere garage sale the way Home Depot is just a hardware store or Regal Cinemas is just a movie theater.
This year’s garage sale Saturday brought nearly 50 residents together to make their junk someone else’s treasure. Among the great finds were a great variety of books, furniture, records and even someone’s old convertible.
Bob Tracy, who was using his friend’s house to sell his wares, said the morning was "going good." Among the items he had for sale was a book of poetry by Doors front man Jim Morrison.
The garage sale lasted from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and brought many people into the town from other areas.
Dawn Remz and Felicity Brooks were out early looking for bargains.
Ms. Remz had bought a cappuccino machine and Ms. Brooks was the proud owner of $10 kitchen chairs and various stuffed animals for her 18-month daughter, Samantha.
"I’m from East Windsor, so I’ve been here before," said Ms. Brooks.
Ms. Remz is from Pennsylvania and made her first trip to the annual Cranbury event.
Sellers also raided their closets for old suits, shirts and pants that would probably be favorites for those thrift-store patrons interested in vintage-style clothing.
"I always find things to sell," said Natalie Diefenbach.
"My daughter and sister-in-law bring things they want to sell here, too," she said.
Ms. Diefenbach said that more and more people come out to the event every year.
"I usually open up about 7 a.m. and try to close at 1 p.m., but there’s always still more people showing up," she said.
Two girls, Emily Kehrt and Laurel Kanawyer, both 14, used the garage sale for a good cause helping their friend pay for her cat’s surgery.
"Our friend’s cat got its tail caught in the door and they did not have the money for surgery," said Emily.
She said they raised $225 in their garage sale, which had various children’s books and crossword puzzle books for sale. The surgery was paid for by Krepps School, but the money was put into a fund for the cat.
As weather went from imminent rain storm to summer-like heat, more and more flocked to Evans Tract sale. Almost every house’s driveway, lawn and, appropriately, garage, had wide ranges of items on racks, in boxes and on tables.
Rooting through a box of books was Christine Santo, who uncovered an old copy of Mario Puzo’s "The Godfather" amid a stack of other books.
"My own copy is all worn out and beaten up," she said.
One seller, Hallie Eichler, said her sale was going well, except that her pine cones were not the huge seller they were last year.
"Last year, the pine cones all went, this year, I can’t sell one of them," she said, still in good spirits.
Another seller, Sharon Pulz, said she looked forward to the annual sale to unload some of her clutter.
"What else do you do with it?" she said.
The garage sale was once again a big hit with folks who have made the multi-family event a tradition of sorts.
"I come here every year. I love it," said Madeline Schumann, offering a bit of advice from her own mistake this year.
"I got here late, so everything good was gone. You have to be here early," she said.
