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Treasure hunt: Junk Jaunt marks fifth year |
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Thursday, 25 September 2008 |
 By MICHELLE ZLOMKE
Chief Managing Editor
A license plate survey during last year’s Junk Jaunt revealed the impact the annual event makes on area communities.
“It brings 15,000 to 20,000 people into the area, and those will come from 63 of the 93 counties in Nebraska and 34 states,” said organizer Peggy Haskell.
The Junk Jaunt is a 300-mile route along both the Loup Rivers Scenic Byway and the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway.
Sales and events associated with Junk Jaunt begin as early as today.
The trek is a loop that begins near Grand Island and Wood River and extends to the northwest near Brewster.
Towns along the route include Cairo, Dannebrog, Elba, Scotia, North Loup, Ord, Burwell, Taylor, Brewster, Dunning, Anselmo, Merna, Broken Bow, Berwyn, Ansley, Mason City, Litchfield, Hazard, Ravenna and Grand Island.
Communities near the loop participating in Junk Jaunt activities include Halsey, Boelus, Farwell, Ashton, Loup City, Sargent, St. Libory, St. Paul, Spalding and Ericson.
Some of the communities host special events during Junk Jaunt.
“When you bring 20,000 people into the area, they have to travel into all these small towns,” Haskell said.
Haskell, who works with other Loup Rivers Byway committee members year-round to prepare for Junk Jaunt, said she spends Junk Jaunt weekend visiting with both buyers and vendors.
“I do a different part of it each year to talk to the vendors and talk to the travelers and see how it’s going,” she said.
She also checks in with businesses in the area to find out how they fare during Junk Jaunt.
“Lodging has been one of our biggest challenges,” Haskell said. “And last year, five restaurants in Burwell told me that business was as good as or better than during rodeo week. I guess that’s the norm.”
Haskell said Junk Jaunt has been simple to organize. The idea originated with a Loup River Byway committee member who had heard about a “500-mile garage sale” in the southeast.
“We simply said, ‘Let’s do it in Nebraska,’” she said. “Between March and June that year, we had our ideas in place and decided to roll with it. I guess we were lucky enough to come up with a real good prototype the first year.”
Vendors pay $15 to be official Junk Jaunt participants. Another $30 purchases an advertisement in the official Shopper Guide.
The Shopper Guide is available to shoppers for $5.
Haskell said the Junk Jaunt profits about $3,000 each year, and that money goes back to the Loup Rivers Byway for byway promotion.
Haskell said the event has been enjoyable for organizers.
“We saw right away there were a lot of really nice people in the area and most of them were excited about what it was going to do for their communities.” |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 October 2008 )
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Huskers.com
