Washtenaw County's newest Walmart put its parent company's new Black Friday crowd control policies in action overnight as it awaited its first holiday season.

The Pittsfield Township store, located just east of Saline at Michigan Avenue and State Road, stayed open 24 hours on Thanksgiving.

And because of that, it welcomed early shoppers into the store instead of making them stand in line outside of the doors.

That was welcomed by the shoppers, many of whom started the night by spending at least an hour in line at the Toys R Us store in Arborland - and who've grown used to the unpredictable weather in the early morning hours of Black Friday.

"This is great," said Bobbie Henderson of Belleville, a frequent Black Friday shopper who says the only thing she doesn't like about the shopping day is the weather.

But Henderson, shopping with her son Tyler, 11, didn't have to worry about that at about 3 a.m. when they took their place in line to buy a Nintendo DS. Even after some people started to point out that it had started snowing outside.

The line was in the northwest corner of the store, next to the garden center, where about 8 other shoppers had gathered.

That, too, was part of the Walmart corporate policy for the day: Sale items are arranged throughout the store (shrouded in black plastic until 5 a.m.) while the many employees keep order, answer questions and, when necessary, hands out numbers to note places in line.

Robert Keeth of Onsted is one of those employees. He normally works an overnight stocking shift. This morning, he's stationed in beauty supplies, where he'll hand over 50-inch plasma TVs priced at $598 to shoppers who wait in that line.

It's his first Christmas working for Walmart, and he didn't know what to expect on Black Friday. He's been having fun talking to customers and coworkers as the store gradually fills.

Like the customers, he's relieved that the morning is not chaotic.

"I expected it to be more disorganized," he said. "This year they created the lines, and it was a good choice."

Among the customers he's chatted with are the Williams family of Ypsilanti Township, who brought blankets and chairs to get them through their wait for a Magnavox Blu-Ray disc player for $78.

They showed up at 10 p.m. Thursday and prepared to wait it out.

The reason? "The price," said Billy Williams.

Charlie Zedeker, assistant manager, has worked 12 Black Fridays at Walmart.

This year, the crowd control is different from the "drop and run" approach to opening the sales. He said it's probably necessary, since today's sale flier may be the largest yet.

As one of the managers on duty among what seemed like endless associates, Zedeker spent much of the early morning fielding questions about policy, locations and other concerns from employees and shoppers.

But - as a longtime Black Friday shopper from the days before he worked at Walmart - he's also enjoying himself, despite spending a lot of his time near the most crowded part of the store: Electronics.

"This is fun," he said. "I love it."

"...It's the most stressful (day) but also the most fun I've ever had."

Zedeker said this year's sale prompted the earliest time he's seen people gather to wait for deals. But people also seemed respectful and courteous in the hours right before the sale started.

Meanwhile, some of the shoppers at Walmart planned to go to other stores after the 5 a.m. sale. Among them: The Hendersons, who expect to head to Target next.

But not all of the shoppers will keep going.

"(I'm going) home to bed," Williams said.