Friday, November 26, 1999
Holiday workers make the best of it
Many services in full operation
BY TIM BONFIELD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Be they grocers, cab drivers, security guards or nurses, thousands of Tristate residents worked on Thanksgiving Day to keep the rest of us safe, fed and entertained.
With banks, government agencies, offices, industrial parks and most stores and restaurants closed for the holiday, much of Greater Cincinnati seemed to be a ghost town Thursday.
But many services and businesses remained open: gas stations, grocery stores, pharmacies, airports, buses, taxis, tow trucks, hospitals, nursing homes, police and fire departments, radio and television stations, newspa pers, movie theaters, video-rental stores, gambling outlets, taverns, nightclubs — even a few barber shops.
In Pleasant Ridge, shoppers at the IGA on Montgomery Road filled their carts with last-minute fixings for their Thanksgiving feasts.
“People come in for all the stuff they forgot to buy yesterday ... bread crumbs, brown-and-serve rolls, pop, snacks,” said Ken Finke, store manager.
“Yeah, a few people buy turkeys (on Thanksgiving Day),” Mr. Finke said. “A few years ago we had a woman come in at 2 p.m. and buy a 20-pound frozen turkey. I mean that thing was frozen solid as a rock. She asked how long it would be before it'd be ready for dinner. I told her she wouldn't be eating that turkey any time today.”
At the Kmart in Colerain Township — one of the few large retail chains open on Thanksgiving Day — a line of people was waiting when the store opened at 7 a.m. and the checkout lines were hopping at noon.
Kmart employee Jenny Zoz worked a six-hour shift racking clothes and stocking shelves. The good part about working the holiday: She didn't have to worry about fixing a turkey.
“I definitely couldn't cook today,” Mrs. Zoz said. “I'm going to my mother-in-law's. She's having about 20 people.”
In Corryville, Angel's Carryout and the Kroger store were the only businesses open along Short Vine.
“I've got nothing else to do. I've been watching TV since 7 a.m., so I came over to open the store,” said Angel's owner Ali Hameidan. “Today, I close at 6 p.m., then I go eat.”
A few blocks away, at the corner of Jefferson and West Corry, flower vendor Chuck Johnson sold more than 35 bouquets in less than two hours to motorists on their way to family get-togethers.
“I'm out here just about every holiday. Business is better than I thought it would be. The weather's not so bad this year,” Mr. Johnson said.
Thinking about turkey, Mr. Johnson said he hoped to sell out by 3 p.m. “My wife's fixing dinner right now,” he said.
Highway traffic was typical for a holiday: a smattering of cars and very few big trucks. But not everyone has a car, and that means work for bus drivers and cabbies.
In Kennedy Heights, Veterans Taxi driver Isiah Arnold Jr., 68, waited for a fare near the corner of Montgomery Road and Kennedy Avenue.
On Thanksgiving, Mr. Arnold said he usually provides rides to a few elderly residents who need to get to a store plus several customers headed home from local taverns.
“It's a slow day. Most people are already where they want to go,” Mr. Arnold said.
Plenty of others worked Thanksgiving to keep people entertained and informed.
Every radio and television station in town had staff working.
Movie theaters and video rental stores were open all over town. You could place bets at riverboat casinos and on simulcast horse races at Turfway Park.
Xavier University's men's basketball team spent Thanksgiving in Alaska for a tournament while the No.1 UC Bearcats were in Hawaii for a tournament.
Most restaurants and fast-food outlets were closed, but some made a point of offering Thanksgiving specials.
Working on holidays comes with the job description for police, firefighters and others in emergency services.
At AAA Cincinnati, the emergency roadside-service department ran three shifts with 14 employees each, said manager Jinny Hizer. As of 2 p.m. the agency had received about 200 calls, mostly for lockouts and flat tires, she said.
And because illness knows no holidays, hospitals and nursing homes were staffed with doctors, nurses, technicians, admitting clerks, cooks and cleaning crews.
At Jewish Hospital Kenwood, 132 patients spent Thanksgiving in hospital beds. So did 271 patients at University Hospital.
At. St. Elizabeth Hospital Medical Center in Edgewood, Ky., about 60 patients were treated in the emergency department from midnight to 3 p.m.
“So far, it has been an amazingly quiet day,” said emergency-room nurse Debbie Flerlage.
As the day passes, the ER staff builds to a mid-afternoon peak of about 12 nurses, three doctors, two phlebotomists and two secretaries.
Every Thanksgiving, staff members bring in a potluck dinner. Even with turkey and trimmings, it's hardly a sit-down dinner: members of the ER crew eat whenever they can take a break between patients.
“We've learned to make the best of it,” Ms. Flerlage said.
Hundreds of Tristate residents did volunteer work on Thanksgiving Day, serving meals at area churches and homeless shelters and delivering meals to shut-ins.
And some folks just worked for themselves.
In Mount Airy, Paul Axt spent several hours ripping out old door and window frames at a house along Colerain Avenue he's turning into an office for his contracting business.
Mr. Axt gave up a holiday of relaxation because his welding and lead-paint removal jobs are keeping him busier than expected — a problem he said he's thankful to have.
“I'm so swamped. There's no way I could take any other time,” he said. “It's a good year for business. So you've got to take it when you can.”
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Shoppers advised to remain on alert
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Go online to shop out-of-town
Rudd Farm lights up one last time
Grand homes dress in wreaths and bows
Cards with a cause
Christmas festival has Welsh flavor
Holiday workers make the best of it
'Pretty slow' day for crime
Stealth politics waged on Internet
GET TO IT
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Colerain awaits buyout verdict
Eastgate Bigg's recalled turkeys
Guadalupe festival is outreach to Hispanics
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Sidewalks have lots of support
TRISTATE DIGEST
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