To fully understand this post, one must understand two things. One, Thanksgiving is a major holiday in the US, celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. Two, the following day, “Black Friday” is the “traditional” start of the Christmas shopping season. These days, Black Friday sales begin in October, but prior to the pandemic, retailers were fighting to out-sell each other by opening earlier and earlier. By 2019, stores were starting their sales on Thanksgiving Day, and pushing the start as far back as 5:00 am on the holiday.
In November 2019, P.C. Richard and Son, an appliance store that started (I think) in New Jersey and has spread into other mid-Atlantic states, New York and parts of New England ran a full-page ad in our local paper announcing that their stores would be closed – “As Always” on Thanksgiving! Closed, while Home Depot and Lowes were announcing huge Black Friday discounts on the same appliances P.C. Richard & Son sells.
P.C. Richard & Son said in their full-page ad that “our employees and their families come first.”
When my wife and I read the ad, we decided that we would buy our appliances from P.C. Richard & Son. So far, we have bought five items from our local store. We will certainly return for any other appliances we need in the future.
This year, I was happy to see that a few other major retailers remained closed on the holiday. I was very happy to see that Target’s CEO Brian Cornell announced that they would never open on Thanksgiving again. According to various news sources, Cornell said:
“What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard.”
I hope this is a trend that continues.
The “We are the World” Blogfest continues, well into its third year. This blogfest’s goal is to spread the message of light, hope and love in today’s world. We are challenging all participants to share the positive side of humanity. We hope to share the stories that show kindness, compassion, hope, overcoming challenges and in general, the impressive resilience of the human spirit. Click HERE for more information, guidelines and the hosts for this month’s event. Click HERE to visit the #WATWB Community Facebook page. Special thanks to this month’s co-hosts, – Eric Lahti and Sylvia Stein.
No Facilities 
Hi Dan – makes absolute sense for PC Richard not to open their doors for the pandemonium that seems to follow on Black Friday weekend – it’s caught on here … awful fights can ensue. Excellent you’re supporting the firm over the years. And now Target – it does make sense. Good #WATWB.
Love the photos … and yes it’s got cold here and they’ve had snow up north. Everyone looks happy that’s the main thing – while the lighthouse stands out … all the best – cheers Hilary
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Thanks I lady – I think it does make sense. I have no desire to fight my way through a crowd to buy a washer. We walked around with our salesman and made a simple, easy decision. So much better. It is colder here, but we might have one day in the fifties.
Take care.
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I remember when people were up in arms because businesses started to open in the evenings and on Sundays. It was unheard of! Good for you for giving your business to a place that seems human, and thank you for the ray of light.
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I remember those days, too, Maureen. My mom worked in a department store. I remember Black Friday, but more as the day we could go look at the holiday window displays.
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No Black Friday in my childhood, but, oh, those window displays! I too worked in a department store — an unknown world now.
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I applaud every company that closed on Thanksgiving and gave their employees time to celebrate with their families. Now, let’s hope some do the same on Christmas day. I remember way back when and we lived in St. Louis, that everything was closed on Sunday except the pharmacies which at that time sold only medicinal products. Dare I say we survived to tell the story. :-)
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I remember those days, too, Judy. And no ordering over the web. Oh my, you had to plan and shop ahead of time or – wait a whole day! Oh the humanity.
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You’ve got quite a wildlife going. Those squirrels look huge. And it’s cold! The shot of windy Maddie is wonderful. Today I had to wear my first scarf of the season. For now it’s cotton, as is my jacket. Probably coat in the evening…
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Several squirrels around this neighborhood are, well, let’s go with “healthy.” We do have some thin ones, too. They were everywhere this weekend. Some of these are in our yard, some we spied as we walked. Stay warm.
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It was good to read about Thanksgiving and Black Friday, we don’t have it here. I will read more about them.
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Hooray for P. C. Richard and Son for having the common sense and decency to close their stores on Thanksgiving. Let’s hope this will start a trend amongst these big box stores. After all, their employees aren’t robots…..they are humans with families and should be able to enjoy the holiday like the rest of us. Furthermore, they don’t have to try to make every dollar that’s out there.
I just love the last photo. It’s a Hallmark card! Maddie in the wind with her sunlit feathers blowing is priceless. She sure loves her vest. Yeah, Baby Sam definitely needs to work on growing his tail! Only frontal shots please for now! 🤗
Stay warm. It’s really cold and windy here in the Hudson Valley. Sigh….
Ginger
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Thanks Ginger. Maddie loves the wind. She would stand and sniff all day long if we let her. Unfortunately, we’re usually trying to get her to pee.
It’s cold and windy here, too. We will continue to shop at P.C.Richard & Son, and we’ll shop on days when it’s not crazy. I don’t need to save every dollar either. Actually, since we keep going back to the same salesman, he gave us a nice discount on the last order. Shopping like it used ot be – people taking care of people.
The squirrels were everywhere this weekend. I had so many pictures, I couldn’t decide which to use.
I hope you have a nice week. Stay warm.
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Agreed. No one needs to shop on Thanksgiving. And though I miss my bunnies, that last squirrel pic is stellar!
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We have two bunnies running around here. The light is terrible, but I keep trying.
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And I appreciate it.
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We try to support small businesses whenever possible as well. I totally hate monopolies. MCI was a hero to me, taking down the Ma Bell monster back in the 80’s. Now monopolies are on the rise again through corporate buyouts and ‘false front’ discounting.
I love Maddie’s overcoat. That burning bush is dwindling to embers. 😕 I hope you have a terrific week, Dan.
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MAddie loves her coat, Cheryl. She sits in a chair and tries to put her paws through the sleeve holes. Once it’s on her, she acts like it’s Superman’s cape. We’re down to only have a few leaves left, but those red leaves are hanging on. I hope you guys have a great week.
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Awww. I’d love to see her do that. ❤️Thanks, Dan! We will.
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Thank you for sharing the WATWB information, Dan. I’m with you 100%! Beautiful photos as always. 😊
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Thanks Gwen. I was very happy to see Target join in this pledge. P.C. Richard & Son is relatively local, but Target will get noticed. I hope you have a great week.
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I’m feeling a little Squirrley! Love the pics of course. I have always maintained that I will support any shop that is ethical and moral. I have more respect for the shops remain closed for their staff. They are people too. And I will continue to give them any support I can. Same as a little shops as opposed to the big box. I like to be treated with respect and you often don’t find that in the big stores. I like the little guy!
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I agree, Pam. It’s worth paying for that kind of service. And, if we don’t support the local little guys, they’ll soon be gone.
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I agree. It’s good to shop the smaller stores, when you can find them. Not a fan of Black Friday, but it’s a thing now. Love Baby Smoke.
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We avoid the whole weekend of shopping. I try to support local stores rather than big chains. Sometimes, there’s no choice. Baby Smoke is such a cutie.
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Lovely post, Dan. I was happy to read about Target’s decision to never open on Thanksgiving. It gives me hope others will follow suit.
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I hope they do, Maggie. The big one would be WalMart.
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The Publix grocery store by us was closed on Thanksgiving, but The Fresh Market was open 7am-3pm for ‘your last-minute dinner needs.’ I’d almost bet those ‘last-minute dinner’ people were ticked off that Target was closed so they couldn’t get a head start on their Christmas shopping.
One Christmas, I took a second, part-time job at Abraham & Strauss to work in their Housewares Dept. Holy gosh! Who knew people shopped housewares for Christmas presents?! Thankfully, after Christmas I was hired on as permanent part-time help in the Men’s Dept–every young girls dream job!
Maddie in the wind is a beautiful thing. The squirrels are so cute–even if baby Sammy does look like a rat!
Have a great week, Dan.
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Abraham & Strauss – now there’s a blast from the past. I never worked retail. I probably could have put up with customers 40 years ago, but not today.
Baby Sammy does look like a rat, but their tails are growing out. Have a nice week, Lois.
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I really like this trend of being closed on Thanksgiving for retailers. I don’t shop during that week-end anyway, do many others? I didn’t even shop online this year for all the “deals & steals” that have been bombarding my email inbox.
That last squirrel looks like its eating well. Or maybe it’s all the fur its put on for its winter coat. 😀
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That squirrel says “the camera adds 10 ounces.” We have one that doesn’t fit through the fence anymore. We really don’t overfeed them, but they are constantly foraging in the yards up and down the street.
We avoided shopping this weekend. I do like this trend.
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LOL!! Looking for all those nuts that have been squirreled away no doubt. 😂
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No doubt.
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Happy Thanksgiving Dan. I agree that all need these family-gathering holidays off.
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All families do. It’s one day, and people will come back another day, if you’re service is good.
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I’m glad to see the Thanksgiving closures too, Dan. I think everyone should stay home. I even dislike the restaurants that are open to cater to the inept and lazy. I enjoyed the baby squirrel photos. I don’t realize they has to grow fluff for their tails
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Agreed, John. The bar I go to does Thanksgiving dinners for 2 or 4, but they are cold and you pick them up on Wednesday. They close early on Wednesday and are closed Thursday.
We’ve never seen squirrels this young/small. The first one I saw, I thought it was a rat.
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That tail looks like it. By the way if someone wants a restaurant to prepare their dinner I have no problems with a Wednesday pick-up. It’s the being open that gets me.
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Agreed.
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We left home at 11:00 am, driving for an hour for the Thanksgiving dinner. Walmart, Best Buy, and the 24 hours fitness gym wars closed. We drove an hour on the freeway. There were no trucks. My guess was, the trucks didn’t have to deliver when the major stores were closed. The major stores in the mall were closed also.
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I’m glad. Those people had a day off and you had an easy ride.
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The stores used to have half a day off. But as you pointed out, the black Friday started earlier and earlier. Half a day off on Thanksgiving is nothing. By the time the people get home, the afternoon is almost gone.
We were happy to have an easy ride.
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We try to support our local businesses instead of the big box stores too. I can’t imagine going shopping on either Thanksgiving or Christmas but it is nice to know at least one grocery is open for a few hours. In case we burn the pumpkin pie!
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Haha – but it’s probably a $14 pie st that point 😏
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I used to volunteer for duty once my family was gone, because I could not see people being forced to work on major holidays. So agree with you as well.
Thanks for the flag I used in today’s Farewell Salutes, Dan. IMO, that one image says it all!
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Your welcome GP. You’re always welcome to any photo 🙂
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Much appreciated.
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Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!! We truly did…all three of our girls and their husbands were together not only for Thanksgiving, but to celebrate our granddaughters 5th birthday last Friday and to celebrate our youngest announcing her and her husband were going to have a baby boy in June!! Great post Dan….love the pics and I too am happy that some of the major retailers stayed closed on Thanksgiving!!
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I’m so glad you had them all with you, Kirt. Nothing better.
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Agreed!! :)
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Good for them, it’s hard enough for many to find family time as it is, holidays should be sacred. Thanks so much for sharing this and for being a part of #WATWB. Hope you have a fantastic week!
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Thanks Belinda. I hope you’re s having a good week, too.
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There’s a world of smiles in this post, Dan. Love the squirrel feature, especially getting to see the babies. Hugs on the wing.
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I’m glad you like it, Teagan. I had so many squirrel pictures this weekend.
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I’ve been trying to buy from local, small business ever since Covid has claimed some of our favorite spots. But when they honor holidays, that’s a plus. I’m glad you found your appliance place and have contributed to its ongoing viability. Thanks for adding to the positive stories of WATWB, Dan!
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Thanks Mary. We’ll keep shopping here. There has to be more than price to consider.
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Love the squirrel shots and hurrah for every business closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter! I can understand some pharmacies and hospitals being open all the time, but if we can’t make it three days without shopping, we have a problem. Yup, we do!
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We do, Janet. And if we’re willing to sacrifice some decent family time for fighting crowds over a few dollars off of an even bigger TV – we have a problem.
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As long as people think they’re starving for “stuff”, whether they need it or wanted it enough, The stores are going to oblige them.
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True.
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I like it when places shut down for the holidays. It’s kind and respectful. Thanks for sharing, Dan. And for the lovely photos. :-)
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My pleasure.
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An excellent post, Dan and a life-affirming follow-up discussion. In Canada, the Ontario government announced the introduction of Bill 27, the Working for Worker Act which is often referred to as the Right to Disconnect law. During these past months as virtual work has increased, work-life balance has become even more difficult to achieve. Our federal government proposed similar legislation in 2018. This dialogue is now front and centre. If we don’t disconnect and if employers do not address the idea that employees need rest from work, we all suffer. Risks include anxiety, depression and burnout. I am glad that this conversation is ongoing because we will continue to work, play, and connect in a virtual world. Thank you for introducing me to #WATWB!!!
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I hope the law passes, although I wish we didn’t need a law. People need to disconnect.
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I share that thought, Dan!!!! It all starts with us!
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I didn’t join in Black Friday this year. I already had gotten some stuff from Amazon already. I will be getting some more stuff from Amazon soon. So the burning bush has burned out. lol
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Yep, it’s out for the season.
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Cheers to businesses that put employees and their families first! Like you, I want to support them.
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Hi Dan, this is an interesting post. I am glad to know there is a return to family values. I don’t think employees should have to work on major holidays especially if they are religious. Stores should be closed on Good Friday and Christmas in Christian countries and on major religious celebrations in other countries.
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I agree, Robbie. I think a return to the values that define these holidays is a move in the right direction. Everything in this country has become an excuse to shop.
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