Gigantic Yard Sale at former roadhouse boosts historical society

It was almost as if the late and legendary Shang Bailey came back to life Saturday and reopened his once famed roadhouse at 2737 Hartford Ave. in Johnston.

“The activity here today was just like when Shang operated his old roadhouse of yesteryear,” said Anthony Ursillo, who owns the famed property that was also previously known as The Log Gift Shoppe. “Today is just another chapter in the history of this famous landmark.”

Although rain forced the Gigantic Yard Sale indoors, the event benefiting the Johnston Historical Society reached its goal.

“The rain did not stop the hardcore pickers from coming out,” said Ursillo, who organized the event and is a member of the society’s Board of Directors. “This yard sale was a complete success. The yard sale aficionados were out in force. Everyone enjoyed rummaging through boxes of goodies in a never-ending search for that perfect prize or surprise.”

And, as people like society president Lou McGowan and treasurer Joe Jamroz so aptly noted, “It seems like the harder it rains, the more people keep coming in here.”

Many of the society’s old friends – and a host of new faces – showed up to support the highly regarded historical group. Dozens of people walked slowly through five of the rooms inside the spacious one-time roadhouse, examining items like couches, room dividers, rockers, clothes, dolls, jugs and all kinds of goodies that were priced anywhere from $1 and up.

“You just never know what you’re going to come across at yard sales like this,” one person noted while glancing at three glass-encased shelves of unique Christmas items. “It’s so much fun … a real New England tradition for sure.”

Even youngsters like Nicholas De Lima, 8, found just the right item while going from room-to-room with his mother and father, Anita and Richard De Lima of Johnston.

Although the younger De Lima checked out a used set of golf clubs, he opted for a bigger prize – a spiffy Wilson-brand tennis carrying case and racquet he purchased for just $5.

For folks like Mickey Gautieri and Daniel Hicks, the large selection of books was right up their alley, as there was one area filled with paperback and hardcover reading material.

“It’s almost like shopping in a department store,” one lady noted while looking over a table that was covered with everything from a huge container to boil steamed clams to different sizes of radios that – as McGowan mused – work just fine.

To say that the event was “Gigantic” would indeed be an understatement. And the day’s super staff – society members like McGowan, Jamroz, Elise Carlson, Shar DeMaio, Timothy Kee and Ursillo – had each and every item well-displayed in the five rooms and made sure nothing was cluttered or hampered people’s paths as they searched for their favorite item.

“We were very pleased with the support we received from the public and some of our friends,” Ursillo said. “Also, a big thank you to [society vice president] Dan Brown, Phil Lemoi and other people who helped make today a special success.”

Perhaps the day – an event that continued into Sunday morning before all the stock was cleaned out – could have been summed up in the scene that featured McGowan sitting in a wood glider with removable cushions and speaking about a one-time bar stool.

“Kind of fitting we’re in the one-time roadhouse,” McGowan said. “See this stool? It came from the Village Rendezvous in Thornton. A lot of people used to meet there, just like they did when this place was an often-visited roadhouse.”