Yes the sun is going down
and I'm stuck on muddy ground…read moreI'm just tryin' to get through
in muddy bottom blues.
(Muddy Bottom Blues -Tab Benoit)
So when a group I belong to decided to have our Mid-Winter meeting in PA Dutch country, quite a few of the members were excited because "we can go to the Mud Sale".
What's a 'Mud Sale'? Well I didn't know so I did some research and learned it's a fundraising tradition among many volunteer fire departments in Lancaster County. The tradition goes back fifty years.
You'll find them all over the area on weekends between late Winter and early Spring. And since so many of these auctions are held outdoors when the ground can be very muddy from melting snow, well they became known as "Mud Sales".
We had a blast here! The Strasburg Auction starts at 8 AM, and you had better get there early or you'll have a real hefty hike from wherever you finally find a place to park.
The auctions are spread through what resembles a fairgrounds ringing the Fire Station. Auctions are in maybe a half dozen buildings, inside maybe another half dozen huge tents, and at stalls criss-crossing the entire complex.
What can you buy? Probably anything! The official auction schedule lists these categories: quilt crafts, small goods, new and used tools, crafts, antiques, groceries, furniture, collectibles, hay and straw, farm machinery, sheds, building materials, carriages, horses & mules, lawn and garden, and gift certificates.
There are multiple simultaneous auctions, so as you walk through the grounds you'll hear many variations of the auctioneers' rapid fire delivery. Believe me, its immensely entertaining to sit in the rooms and behold the spectacle of these men speaking super humanly fast.
We hung out in the quilt, home furnishings, tools and furniture buildings and tents. The furniture tent was super muddy, and plywood sheets were installed on the floor to make things easier, but the sheets were under muddy water.
We watched the outdoor stalls where they auctioned off box lots of household things for like $2 or $3 a box. I saw someone bid on an upright vacuum that had an impressive tower of pre-owned dirt inside the central cylinder.
This is a "must experience" thing to see if you are in Lancaster. Just don't forget to wear your boots.