AUBURN — Just before 5 a.m. Friday, a band of shoppers stood in the dark waiting to get into the Lamey Wellehan shoe store.

They were seasoned Black Friday shoppers, the kind who skip sleep to shop through the night.

Pam Brooks of Jay started shopping at midnight at the Farmington Wal-Mart. She was after an iPad. Her friend wanted a big-screen television set. They got what they wanted. The crowds weren’t as big as they’d been in other years, she said.

Then it was on to Kmart, Kohl’s and Lamey Wellehan for a pair of the popular Dansko shoes, which normally sell for more than $100 and were on sale for $69.

By 5 a.m. Brooks was spent. “I’m going home after this,” she said.

A few minutes after the shoe store opened, Auburn teacher Mauri Dufour was at the cash register, her merchandise in the bag: “Bogs” (boots) for her children.

She left home at 10 Thursday night to start shopping. “We went to Wal-Mart and got the 50-inch TV on sale for the basement remodel,” she said.

Then she hit Kohl’s, JCPenney and Lamey Wellehan. “This is my last stop,” Dufour said, adding that she would soon be getting on a plane for a quick trip to South Carolina. She planned to sleep during the flight.

To have an enjoyable, successful all-night shopping experience, people must be patient and remain in a good mood, Dufour said. “Just make it fun.”

Outside Kohl’s, Valerie St. Pierre of Lisbon and Jeanne Keene of Durham reported that this year’s lines seemed shorter. St. Pierre said she was spending more money than she did last year: “toys, Barbies. I have two daughters.”

Lisa Mcfadden of Leeds and her sister, Elisa Smith of Maryland, came out of Kohl’s, bags a-bursting.

It was Smith’s first Black Friday shopping trip. “It’s fun,” she said. “I’m excited. I got all kinds of ‘Frozen’ stuff for my girls, ages 3 and 5.”

JCPenney floor manager Donna Nadeau said the all-night sales went well. Customers loved the $10-off coupons, which were gone in a few hours.

Retail associates reported for work at 11:30 p.m. Thursday. It was exciting to open the doors and watch lines of shoppers flock in, Nadeau said.

Checkout clerks wore festive, red-and-white-striped fingerless gloves. Before the 12:01 a.m. opening, Nadeau gave them a pep talk, reminding them that it’s the busiest day of the year and to thank customers for waiting.

Craig Tardif of Hartford wasn’t the typical Black Friday shopper. He got up one hour before with a short list to be found at Harbor Freight: “tools.”

Around the corner, mother and daughter Jamie Hastings and Carolyn Guilford had a cart full of tools. The Woodstock pair deserved a Black Friday stamina award.

“We started shopping at 6:30 last night,” Hastings said, adding that they began in New Hampshire.

By midnight they were in Auburn, hitting Wal-Mart, JCPenney, Kohl’s and Kmart, then back to Penney’s, then back to Kohl’s. They had breakfast at Denny’s, then hit a few stores at the Auburn mall, including one more stop at Penney’s.

At Harbor Freight, Hastings was after a floor jack and creeper to allow her husband to do automotive work at home.

By 7:30 a.m. Friday — 13 hours after they started — they were almost done.

“I think we’re going to hit the Wal-Mart in Oxford on the way home,” Hastings said with a smile.

bwashuk@sunjournal.com

#SJBlackFriday

Mark LaFlamme was at checking out the midnight scene at Auburn’s Walmart. You can share your shopping experiences with us at:

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