First in line for new Thanksgiving tradition
By Jenette Sturges jsturges@stmedianetwork.com November 21, 2012 3:36PM
Karen Mulcahy of Plainfield peeks out of the tent she is living in and that marks her spot at the front of the line for Best Buy's midnight opening on Black Friday in front of the store on Ogden Avenue in Oswego on Wednesday, November 21, 2012. | Steven Buyansky~Sun-Times Media
Store opening hours
THANKSGIVING DAY
4 p.m. — Michael’s
8 p.m. — Walmart
8 p.m. — KMart
8 p.m. — Sears
8 p.m. — Toys R Us
9 p.m. — Target
10 p.m. — HH Gregg
FRIDAY
12 a.m. — Best Buy
12 a.m. — Kohl’s
12 a.m. — Old Navy
12 a.m. — Dick’s
5 a.m. — Lowes
5 a.m. — Home Depot
5 a.m. — Bass Pro Shops
5 a.m. — Office Depot
5 a.m. — Gordmans
6 a.m. — Office Max
6 a.m. — JC Penney
6 a.m. — Jo-Ann
6 a.m. — Radio Shack
6 a.m. — Meijer
7 a.m. — PetSmart
Article Extras
Updated: December 24, 2012 7:10AM
Call it the new holiday tradition.
“We’re been doing this the past five or six years,” said Karen Mulcahy of Plainfield, who was keeping the tent warm Wednesday while the half-dozen other women in her Black Friday shopping group grabbed some lunch. “It’s sort of a ladies’ night out for us.”
Theirs was the first tent out of three pitched in line at the Best Buy on Route 34 in Oswego Wednesday afternoon.
They’ve been there since Monday morning, and every hour or so, a Best Buy manager goes knocking on tents to make sure there’s someone inside.
“I’m just holding down the fort,” Mulcahy said, referring to her spacious tent stocked with supplies and means of entertainment — camping lanterns, books, and snacks.
Their new tradition, she said, is the fun of camping out and picking up TVs and computers at pretty steep discounts.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t planning on celebrating Thanksgiving properly.
On Thursday, before the store opens at midnight Friday, Mulcahy said they plan to cook up a turkey in a fryer on the sidewalk.
And after the 12 a.m. rush for TVs and computers?
“We just keep going (shopping) from here. Some of us may take off to Walmart at 8 p.m. and then come back here,” said Mulcahy. “And then we’ll move on.”
