Retailers, charities brace for holiday season

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Never mind frozen turkeys. Grocery store managers knew they better have fresh ones in stock Wednesday, along with plenty of ready-made rolls and bags of ice. <br><br>Many Oklahoma

Wednesday, November 22nd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Never mind frozen turkeys. Grocery store managers knew they better have fresh ones in stock Wednesday, along with plenty of ready-made rolls and bags of ice.

Many Oklahoma retailers have the holiday shopping rush down to a science _ they can predict what day a particular food will hit its purchase peak.

Last weekend, grocery stores stocked thousands of frozen turkeys, sacks of potatoes, green beans and marshmallows. They were concerned Wednesday about items on the last-minute shopping list: paper plates, napkins, rolls, ice and sugar.

``Most everybody buying today has already got the bulk of their shopping done,'' said Tammy Sexton, who manages one of Oklahoma City's six Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets.

Wal-Mart stores begin preparing for Thanksgiving shoppers in August.

``You should know at least 90 days out what to do for Thanksgiving,'' she said.

But that doesn't mean they never run out of holiday favorites.

Sexton was short on canned pumpkin this week and some Wal-Mart stores ran out by Tuesday.

``We try to have a good camaraderie with all the stores in the area and take care of each other,'' she said. ``It's kind of like the buddy system. But I don't have enough that I can share.''

Jerry Pendleton, manager of Albertson's Food & Drug in Edmond, said the store also researches holiday shopping trends way in advance.

``We keep notes about when customers come load up on supplies,'' he said. ``We basically go off the previous year's sales.''

Throughout the next month, Albertson's employees will stock shelves several times each day and unload delivery trucks at least every other day.

``Today is one of the busiest days of the year,'' Pendleton said Wednesday.

Other retailers also were bracing for a shopping frenzy.

Garden Ridge Home Decor and Craft Marketplace in Oklahoma City was trying to entice customers to shop all through the night. The store's 85-hour shop-a-thon is 9 a.m. Thursday until midnight Sunday. The store, which sells decorations, silk flowers and party supplies, hired temporary holiday workers to help keep stocks full.

``We go crazy,'' said Lauranell Hahn, assistant general manager. ``We stock it to the ceiling.''

At Dillard's in Shawnee Mall, employees have stocked up on animal prints, leather women's apparel and men's sweaters _ this year's hot items. The store began planning for Christmas in May, said Bob Bailey, a manager in the shoe department.

Other Oklahomans have been preparing for their own holiday celebrations, some on a larger scale than a simple family dinner.

Tally Alame, owner of Tally's Good Food Cafe in Tulsa, is cooking 35 large turkeys, more than 1,000 dinner rolls and several pounds of his special cranberry salad. The food is free from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday.

Alame is expecting about 900 homeless people, singles and college students who can't go home for the holiday. He started the tradition 14 years ago because his restaurant was so successful.

``I was very pleased and happy with it and I just wanted to share some of it with my friends and my customers,'' he said.

Several charities throughout Oklahoma also are offering free meals, including Jesus House in Oklahoma City, John 3:16 Mission in Tulsa and the Salvation Army in both cities. Gov. Frank Keating and first lady Cathy Keating will help serve the Oklahoma City meal.

Many churches are preparing meals as well.

In Edmond, members of 10 churches have fixed 80 turkeys and 40 hams they will share at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday. More than 300 volunteers began working on the project Sunday.

``The idea was to have a place for people who were going to be alone on Thanksgiving to come and have a meal together,'' volunteer coordinator Beth Peck said. ``The people working on it try to make it just as nice as they can. We use china, not paper plates, and real silverware, not plastic.''