Patriotic merchandise is a large part of what makes the celebration so festive, and red, white and blue are the colors of the day.
Clifton Hampton is store manager at the Card & Party Factory at 2603 Thornton Lane. His assistant manager, Pat Stirman, said the store has quite an extensive display.
“We have probably around 50 feet of decorations,” she said.
The store has an aisle devoted to patriotic decorations, and Ms. Stirman said they currently have triple the amount of their regular stock.
“Whatever we don’t use for the Fourth of July, we’ll use for the election,” Ms. Stirman said.
Decorations for parades and floats have been selling steadily. Ms. Stirman said there is a small parade for children held on the north side of town.
“We do the Fourth of July big here - it’s tradition,” Ms. Stirman said.
Ms. Stirman said brisk sales started two weeks ago.
“Next to Halloween, the Fourth of July is one of the biggest sales times,” Ms. Stirman said.
The Hobby Lobby Creative Center at 2112 SW H.K. Dodgen Loop has a wall of Fourth of July merchandise.
“Stuff has been selling pretty good,” said assistant manager Angel Wascum. “We had two or three rows back in April.”
The Michael’s Arts & Crafts store located at 3550 S. General Bruce Drive has a display 4 feet by 6 feet, according to store manager Pennie Gaudi. She said Sundays are the busiest days because that’s when Hobby Lobby is closed.
Nora Fernandez of Belton found what she was looking for in the selection of Fourth of July merchandise, especially the sparkler decorations.
“I don’t usually decorate for the Fourth of July,” Ms. Fernandez said. “I’m patriotic all year long - I have flags and a wreath with red, white and blue on it.”
Ms. Fernandez is the district merchandiser for O’Reilly Auto Parts, and was buying decorations for the Copperas Cove store’s Fourth of July decorating contest.
“I stay off the road during holidays,” Ms. Fernandez said when asked about her Independence Day plans. “We may cook out at the house - this is my usual plan.”
Fourth of July cookouts would be incomplete without meat sizzling on the grill.
For Jerry Talasek, manager of Kerley’s Grocery & Market located at 615 E. Central Ave., the Fourth of July is always the busiest time of the year.
“Spareribs are probably the most popular item,” Talasek said.
He said the second most popular products are any kinds of sausages - links or ring - not hot dogs.
“We do make fresh sausage and jalapenos in sausages,” Talasek said.
Some bakeries offer festive displays of their goodies.
Freda Harvey and her husband, Alan, are the owners of Ye Olde English Bakery & Deli located at 1401 S. 31st St.
Mrs. Harvey said they try to put something up for customers to see.
“But closer to the Fourth, we’ll have ready-made cakes for them to pick up,” Mrs. Harvey said.
Mrs. Harvey is perfectly willing to cater to the desires of the customers.
“If they want red, white and blue bread, they can have that, too,” Mrs. Harvey said.
She said it’s hard to tell how sales are going specifically for the Fourth of July.
“Since schools been out, it’s usually quiet,” Mrs. Harvey said. “We’ve had a good summer so far.”
She said she and her husband had worried gas prices might slow people down, but they haven’t seen any signs of that.
“If they can’t do anything else, they’re going to eat,” Mrs. Harvey said.
Before the bakery and deli close on Friday and Saturday, the Harveys plan to put red, white and blue on everything they have - bunt cakes, icing, sprinkles and ribbons.
“If there’s a flag on it, we can sell it,” Mrs. Harvey said. “People just expect everything to be red, white and blue.”
Mrs. Harvey said the Fourth of July is not one of their major holidays. Many of the people who come into the bakery/deli are families gathering for Saturday lunches. She said people go away for the holiday or have family visit them.
“They will buy extra to get them through the holidays,” Mrs. Harvey said. “The Monday after, they’ll be in as if they’re starving.”
Next door to the bakery/deli is Paperdoodles. The Fourth of July display in the window consists of a white picket fence, wooden cut-outs of the flag, stars and a bike.
“Sales are as good as they’ve been in past years,” said Julia Lawyer, part-time salesperson.
With such items as Fourth of July candles, cutlery, stationary and placemats on a table in the store, it’s no wonder Ms. Lawyer and the other saleswomen notice the rush periods during lunchtime and right before the store closes at 5:30 p.m.
“We’re in Texas, where people tend to be more red, white and blue, and it’s the only holiday in the summer,” said Ms. Lawyer when asked for the reason people decorate for Independence Day as much as they do.
Fourth of July spirit especially permeates flower and gift shops.
Something Special Floral & Gifts on South 31st Street has mugs with flags and also sells pinwheels, but, basically, they just use red, white and blue flowers for decorations.
Norman Northen, design room manager for Precious Memories at 1404 S. 31st St., said there is one window and one table display in the store.
“It went up after Mother’s Day,” Northen said. “We do it for Memorial Day and keep it up.”
When asked whether customers plan ahead or wait until the last minute, Northen said their customers tend to think ahead.
“Just ’cause they wanna decorate for the whole month, not just events or parties,” Northen said.
Ms. Seleese Thompson, owner of Precious Memories, said the patriotic display is the focal point beginning before Memorial Day and through the Fourth of July.
“We’re less than two miles from the VA and we’re very close to Fort Hood,” Ms. Thompson said, explaining that location is a large part of why the Fourth of July festivities are such a big deal.
“I’d say the sales are very brisk,” Ms. Thompson said.
vbongat@temple-telegram.com
