Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Honesty is Alive in Upstate New York!

I love a good barn sale. And just driving about 10 minutes from my village home I can find plenty of barns and countryside. The last barn sale I went to was great. The setting was quaint and out front was a sign for fresh eggs. There was a small building attached to the barn with an open sign on the door. One of the helpers told me that there were fresh eggs in there for sale. I asked if someone was in there to take money and she said it was all on your honor. I was too involved in all the fabulous things I was finding to buy at the sale so I never bothered to check it out.


The next time I was driving by I noticed they had added a sign for Rhubarb for sale, so I stopped. I can never pass up fresh rhubarb! I was not prepared for what I found inside.

There was a bucket of fresh rhubarb and a refrigerator full of fresh brown eggs. I was looking for a metal box with the slit in it or a coffee can for the money. What I found was an open cash box full of money and a large yellow note pad to write what you've bought on!


I

I was so surprised because although I understand the concept of the honor system, I couldn't believe there was a box full of cash, presumably to be able to make change. I thought it was great to have each person take the responsibility of writing down the purchase. It helps to keep you honest!

I just was so impressed at the faith in human nature the owners displayed by putting their items and a cash box out behind closed doors........and they live right next door!

I drove off with my bunch of rhubarb having MY faith in human nature renewed!

AnnMarie :)

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11 comments :

  1. weird amigaMay 29, 2012 at 9:48 AM

    How beautiful! This story has made my day.

    So glad to be reminded that there is a way to live that doesn't entail being hard and suspicious. Living in an urban setting makes us behave that way to some extent, unfortunately.

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  2. Julia BadgleyMay 29, 2012 at 5:54 PM

    That's lovely to hear!
    I remember when I was a kid we went to a cottage and needed worms to fish and we ended up finding a place that sold them from an old refrigerator with a 'leave your money' sort of deal and no one watching. I thought that was impressive even then. Glad to hear that people can still be honest now.

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  3. AnaMay 29, 2012 at 6:24 PM

    That is really awesome. A few years back we had a local farmer who brought his produce into town and had the same system - open cash. Unfortunately, even in plain view, people weren't so honest with him. Very sad! But very uplifting to see that there is honesty on this planet somewhere!!

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  4. Becky K.May 29, 2012 at 6:51 PM

    I love this. It is encouraging as these are not the types of stories that make the news. Probably a good thing or the unscrupulous would know where to go to get their next heist.

    It would be so great to be able to get back to this more and more.

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  5. MYSAVIORMay 29, 2012 at 7:53 PM

    We used to have a lady that had the most wonderful tomatoes for sale. She had them in baskets on a bench on the road with a can for money. I stopped almost every day to buy those tomatoes from her garden, go home and cut them up with sliced onion and olive oil. We had them for dinner every night during the season. The most awesome thing about it is that although I never met her, but always admired her belief in people to be honest to leave that money. She is no longer here but that memory will stay with me always.

    ♥♥♥
    Sue

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  6. bananaorangeappleMay 30, 2012 at 3:23 AM

    I have never seen anything like that cash box, amazing!

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  7. MechelleMay 30, 2012 at 6:01 AM

    That definately could only work in a very small town. That is amazing, I have never seen a cash box out like that before.

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  8. Kelly BermudezMay 30, 2012 at 11:28 AM

    That is so wonderful! I wish there were more towns like that: ) Reminds me of Mayberry: )

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  9. AloquinMay 30, 2012 at 12:16 PM

    That's something else! Fantastic, really :) Nice to know there are still places like that... I would love to be able to raise my children somewhere like that.

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  10. Luella NewkirkMay 30, 2012 at 3:09 PM

    What a great experience! Like stepping back in time. When I visit my sister, noone locks their cars, sometimes their houses. It takes me awhile to get that trust and not feel foolhardy leaving my vehicle unlocked.

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  11. sammysgrammyMay 30, 2012 at 4:17 PM

    How lovely to see a demonstration of Godly values. Treasure this.

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