The Book Cellar closes its doors
By Tracy Ouellette
Staff writer
For sisters Sandy Becker and Pam Christiansen, owning and operating The Book Cellar in downtown Waterford for nearly two decades was an act of love.
The joy received by sharing their love of books and reading to the community meant far more to them than the profits.
“It’s a good thing we didn’t have to support ourselves on it,” said Christiansen with a laugh. “We took home a very small paycheck each week.”
The sisters say being one of the only bookstores of the kind in the area helped them to stay in business. That and the community support they’ve received over the years.
“I think every community needs a bookstore like this,” said Christiansen.
Over the years, the shop became a gathering place for the community. It was a place to connect with people of shared interests and the people who shopped there became more than just customers to the sisters.
“I always said the checkout counter was like a bar,” said Becker. “People would come up to the counter like we were the bartenders and share their lives with us.”
The Book Cellar originally opened up in the lower level of what is now New Beginnings Church on Main Street and stayed there for 10 years before moving to 220 Main St., where their shop front faced Waterford’s main thoroughfare.
“We outgrew the (original) space,” said Becker. “We were just packed in.”
The new space let the sisters expand their offerings and hold special events, but they admit it didn’t take long before they filled every available inch of the store.
“We just love books,” said Christiansen. “When Sandy and I were young, we spent every Saturday at the library.”
Both the sisters agree that the best part of owning the store was the opportunity to introduce children to what a book could do for them.
“To see a kid come in and head to the adult history section and want to talk to you about it, it’s just amazing,” said Christiansen. “I was a teacher and the kids were it for me.”
“The kids are so cute with their books,” said Becker.
The sisters say one of the best things to happen to children’s literature in the past decade was Harry Potter.
“Harry brought kids back to books,” said Christiasen. “The whole fantasy genre has drawn in more and more kids, especially boys in the 8 to 12 year old range that don’t always like to read.”
Becker and Christiansen say they decided to retire now because the shop space will be used for the new Creative Arts Resource & Network (CARaN) art studio.
“It just worked out for everyone,” said Christiansen. “They (CARaN) are all about giving back to the community and it was a good match. It was time for us to go and this worked for us, our landlord and the studio.”
The sisters plan on doing some traveling together in their retirement and, of course, they have a long list of books they’d like to read. But they say they will miss the store and the people and wouldn’t trade a minute of it.
“It’s been so much fun – for all 17 years,” said Christiansen.
For more information on the Creative Arts Resource & Network call visit www.creativeartsresource.org.
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