HOLIDAY — In her robe and slippers, Delores Kietzer surveyed the damage.

It was 11 o'clock Wednesday night and the North Buena Vista Civic Association's clubhouse had been broken into. Kietzer, 74, is the president.

A neighbor saw three men slip out the back door and yelled for them to stop. The men ran. The witness called the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, whose investigators were now dusting the cupboards and bingo closet for fingerprints.

The thieves broke the closet door and made a mess of the place. They stole a DVD player and three packages of hot dogs, which were bought for the club's Friday night social. The thieves left the buns.

"Isn't that something," Kietzer said.

A deputy asked her:

"Do you by any chance have turkeys here?"

"Well, yes we do," Kietzer said. "We have four."

She had bought them that evening at Sweetbay, which was having a sale — 49 cents a pound. Each turkey was about 16 pounds. Every year the clubhouse feeds 40 to 80 people for Thanksgiving. The club serves turkey, potatoes and gravy, and everyone else brings a side dish.

Kietzer took the deputy to the freezer. They opened the door.

There were only three inside.

"As soon as they found out we had a missing turkey, they knew they had him," Kietzer said.

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