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When yard sales turn ugly
Posted on April 27, 2007 by kraus2686
Filed Under Lancaster, Noah's posts |
I’ve hit a new high point in my career — or is it a low point? Well, perhaps I’ve just hit a point. I’ve been assaulted by a senior citizen at a yard sale. No, I wasn’t wrestling over that last Lawrence Welk album in the “all for a buck” bin. I was trying to interview a few people at the Current Topics Club yard sale on Neck Road in Lancaster. The town’s oldest club has, apparently, decided to disband and sell off its historic meetinghouse and all its antique treasures. Ah, but there are “factions” in the club who want to see it stay together. Apparently, much like the Irish Republican Army, clubs of elderly ladies have factions. Clouds of dissent were forming.
After taking a few photos of bargain hunters browsing (see innocent bystanders in photo), I interviewed one of the dissenters. She gave me the OK to talk to her and I pulled out my trusty digital voice recorder (I’ve gotten to the point where my own notes are difficult to read and with a recorder there’s no question your quotes are dead on accurate). Behind us, someone started shouting. One of the club members was yelling, others joined in. Next thing I knew I was in the middle of a geriatric brawl.
Faction A moved outside while Faction B continued talking inside. Wanting to get the other side of the story, I sauntered out the door. The recorder was off at that point, but still in my hand. That’s when things got ugly.
“Are you recording what we’re saying? He’s recording us!” one fired up member on the porch shouted. Apparently, this is the Lancaster equivalent of yelling “gun!” at a political rally. Actually, I’d shut the recorder off just after the shouting match in the hall. Bearing no concern for her own safety, this septuagenarian leapt forward, grabbed the weapon (voice recorder) with one hand, my arm with the other and struggled to wrestle it from my steely grasp. Not wanting to get into fisticuffs with gram, I let go. With her prize in hand, she scurried back through the door, protecting the device like a football player guarding the ball while running for that 30-yard touchdown. Lancaster Police Chief Kevin Lamb, who was on site just in case this pleasant little yard sale got out of hand (yep, I’d say that happened), retrieved the offending device and we all had a nice little talk about the law, property and the First Amendment.
In the end, tempers cooled and the ladies from the Current Topics Club (Faction B?) gave me their side of the story, which, I explained, is why I came out on the porch in the first place. So, Worcester and Fitchburg, you can keep your drug dealers, your murderers and violent crimes. Here in Lancaster we’ve got geriatric turf wars and reporter assaults. In true Lancaster fashion, however, we all parted with smiles and probably could have sat down for tea. But man, that woman had some fast hands!
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You poor fellow, you think you had it bad? Being a newspaper man myself for 10 years, 4 of them at the Clinton Daily Item back in 87, before I was forced to retire from the business because I was past the burn out point while working the circulation department at a newspaper just south of Clinton. But lets not get away from the subject here. You talk about newspaper reporters putting their lives on the line for a story? I remember a reporter at a newspaper I was working at that was so bold, that he went after the area’s married police chief and his hush, hush girl friend while doing a story about something that happened at the police department there. You talk about playing with fire, thats playing with fire! I am however very happy to report that in the end, the reporter is still alive and well, Amen to that! You, like that reporter, lucked out this time, but the next time you might not be so lucky. The next time you might concider concealing that pocket recorder, or better yet, send another reporter out to follow up on the issue? In the meantime, good luck, I’ll keep you in my prayers.