Chiputneticook group holds successful yard sale

16 years ago

    The weather stayed clear on Saturday, Aug. 16 when the Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy (CLIC) held its first lake-wide yard sale on the Boundary Road in Orient. No-longer-wanted treasures from people’s camps and houses on either side of East Grand Lake stretched for almost 100 yards. A dozen or more volunteers offered advice, made change or cooked and sold hot dogs, french fries and bottles of water and soda. There were even a dozen loaves of homemade bread for sale. A few residents paid CLIC a modest fee and set up tables of their own.
ImagePhoto courtesy of Frank Bolton
RAISING FUNDS, AWARENESS — Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy (CLIC) held its first lake-wide yard sale Aug. 16 on the Boundary Road in Orient.
    People began to pull up at the site about a quarter mile from the bridge separating the U.S. from Canada as early as 7:30 a.m. The sale began at 9:00 but items continued to be donated to the sale during the morning. Bob Lyons of Houlton, with a camp in Fosterville, was helping a customer when three life jackets were dropped off. Several minutes later, he looked for them, hoping to buy one himself, but they’d already been sold.
    Terry Cole from South Paris, who was visiting her cousin Peter Bickford of Orient and South Paris, said “My daughter is moving off campus into an apartment in a few weeks and I got her two appliances that would have cost at least $60, plus some glasses far less than half of that.” A delighted young teenager was seen leaving with an HP computer printer in his arms and a couple who were staying at the Hide Away Lodge in North Lake N.B. heard about the sale there and drove away with a Mr. Coffee in its original box. The three television sets that were for sale at 9 a.m. were gone by 2 p.m.
    Don Ellis of Houlton and Orient, the principal coordinator of the event, said “It was a great success. A number of people who didn’t know one another became acquainted, lots of people were happy with what they bought and we raised over $600.00 for CLIC. We hope this is the first of many successful such events.”
    CLIC is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving the quality of water in the lake system that runs between Canada and the southern part of Aroostock and northern part of Washington counties. The group currently has 209 Canadian and U.S. dues-paying members. For more information, contact membership secretary Bill Walton at 448-7758 or e-mail clictreasurer@aol.com.