A group of girls shop from the free section at one of the cars in the Community Boot Sale on Monday. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The first annual Community Boot Sale drew a number of local residents, selling yard sale items, hand crafts and other goods out of the back of their vehicles in Morgan’s Grove Park on Monday.

The sale’s organizer was the Shepherdstown Community Club (SCC), which owns the park and held the sale concurrently with its Labor Day Picnic. One of those involved with the sale was that of SCC President Carrie Blessing, whose son, Matthew, manned the stand selling a variety of items, including yoga books and children’s items.

“A lot of folks are around for the extended weekend and the college students are back in school, so it’s a good time to hold events like this,” Blessing said. “It’s our first year. We think it will grow and become another tradition.”

For Shepherdstown residents Paul and Anna McGrath, participating in the Community Boot Sale was a great opportunity to sell some of the things they could no longer use, as well as ones they had an abundance of, including vibrant bouquets of flowers from Anna’s garden.

“I brought some of the flowers that I grow as a hobby. It’s a bit of an obsession,” Anna said, mentioning a number of the other items they were selling were things their daughter, Daisy, had grown out of. “We don’t really have a spot for a yard sale at our home.”

Shepherdstown resident Lea-Ann Bigelow talks about a book at her boot sale in Morgan’s Grove Park on Monday. Tabitha Johnston

According to Paul, events like this one are incredibly popular in his home country, so it seemed natural for them to participate in it.

“In England, you’ll often find a community common space where some people go to buy and some people go to sell items they can no longer use,” Paul said, mentioning he liked that the sale was part of a larger event. “Combining this with something else, means that you get people here who were coming here for another reason. Conceptually, it’s great!”

The couple said they plan on participating in the event again, as did Shepherdstown resident Lea-Ann Bigelow.

“I live a little further outside of town. It’s hard to do any kind of yard sale there, because people would have to go really far out into the country to see it, so this is perfect for me!” Bigelow said, mentioning she didn’t mind paying $25 to participate in the sale. “I love that it supports the Shepherdstown Community Club.”

Unlike the other sellers, Bigelow was not only selling a number of her daughter’s outgrow clothing and toys, but was also giving a number of them away.

Shepherdstown residents sell yard sale items and other goods at the Community Boot Sale in Morgan’s Grove Park on Monday. Tabitha Johnston

“My daughter is now 12. This is a combination of things that are more for younger children, everywhere from age two to age 10,” Bigelow said. “I decided to have a free section here, for items that had been a pair of something and I only have one of, or they had worn out. My daughter used to wear a lot of headbands — sometimes the parts of the band behind the ears wear out, but the headbands are still beautiful! And some of her toys were so little, they don’t have retail value, but they’re fun! So I thought a free section would be a good idea — I knew the kids would enjoy rooting around for treasures in there.”

Bigelow works in the environmental sector for Homeland Security, so she is regularly looking for ways to practice conservation in her daily life, such as with the free section in the trunk of her car.

“I’m desperately trying to keep things out of the landfill. We need to reuse and recycle and keep things in the economy for as long as possible,” Bigelow said. “The more we can do that in a small community like Shepherdstown, the better. We have a good sense of community trust and community engagement, and I think that should include sharing our stuff when we’re done with it. If we can’t do that in a small community, I don’t think anyone can!”