With changing times and today’s overwhelming technological presence, bookstores have become close to obsolete but the need for books is as imperative as ever.
To honour the loss of the Huntsville’s booksellers, The Table Soup Kitchen Foundation has installed a little free library named for a former local bookstore.
“This is to acknowledge and bring to attention the importance of books and the history of bookstores,” says Heather Cassie, CEO of The Table. “All the bookstores in town are now gone, which is a sad thing and the joy of bookstores will be missed.”
The Table celebrated the opening of the little free library, as well as a little food bank, on April 7.
Both sit in front of The Table building at 9 Hanes St., and anyone can donate or take books and food at any time. The food bank will contain mostly non-perishable items and Cassie recommends donating ready-to-eat items such as granola bars. One attendee eloquently referred to this combination of services as “nourishment for both the body and mind.”
The little library is in honour of Carol Ferris, past bookstore owner and longtime friend and volunteer of The Table, as well as other past bookstore owners of Huntsville. It has been entitled “tiny Yesterdays’ Bookcase” to pay respect to Ferris’s previous bookstore Yesterday’s Books, which was located in the Empire Building that burned down in 2009.
“Our town lost a very special bookstore that day,” Cassie says.
Papa Bear Childcare members were in attendance with books they contributed to the little library, and several of the children took some home with them to read. Ferris read a story to the children to help expand their love and interest in books.
Cassie noted that Papa Bear Childcare children and their little red wagon were her main inspiration for starting tiny Yesterdays’ Bookcase. At the beginning of the pandemic, children from Papa Bear Daycare would come to The Table with their wagon to gather books to take with them. Since The Table’s bookstore was closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, volunteers would leave books for them in the window.
“That made me think, goodness, we need something local and nearby for them to come and browse around and be able to receive something to read, something to hold that you’ve actually picked out,” Cassie says.
The tiny Yesterdays’ Bookcase also pays homage to the loss of other bookstores that were once important staples in the Huntsville community: The Bookcase, which closed its doors in 2012 after 42 years of service; The Phoenix Bookstore, which was open from 2010 to 2014; So Many Books, So Little Time, which was lost to a flood in 2013; and Coles, the most recent and last bookstore to close in Huntsville at the end of 2021.
“This town has lost a lot in terms of bookstores,” Cassie says, “so I just felt like we needed to honour the history here.”
Local stonemason and friend of The Table, Rudi Stade (rudistade.com), built the wooden cases for both the little library and food bank, and donated a beautiful stone table he also built that sits between them.
Stade emphasizes the importance of reading, especially for children, to help young minds grow and develop. “I think it’s very important for kids to read from a book,” Stade says. “Books are a great visual way to learn words and how to spell.”
Bookstores in Huntsville may only be a memory, but through The Table’s tiny Yesterdays’ Bookcase and other similar community initiatives, the magic of books will live on for local generations to come.
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Brenda Begg says
Thank you to all who contributed to this much-needed tiny Yesterdays’ Books library. What a lovely tribute to you, Carol, in recognition of your volunteer work. Your generosity of your time and spirit is admirable and greatly appreciated.
Yes, it is very important for children to learn to read from a physical book. I miss our bookstores and the staff!
Carol Ferris says
Very nice article Hilary! It was lovely to meet you!
Marjorie Bower says
Not only have we lost our bookstores but our schools have lost librarians. It was the librarian who could put the right book into the right hand and introduce a child to the magic of reading.
Brenda Begg says
To Marjorie Bower: unfortunately, full time school librarians are a thing of the past due to cutbacks.
Our children (now grown up) had excellent school librarians. The librarians were creative, passionate about books, and provided interesting and fun, book-related activities. Physical books are gold. Hats off to librarians, everywhere!