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Wednesday
March 17, 2010 Since 1922 |
A new chapter begins for Book Barn
By Luke Hales
Published November 3, 2009 A small building on Texas Avenue is home to more than 40,000 stories, each one bound in its own cover. And, like the books held within, the Baytown Book Barn has a story too, one that now has a few new pages.
Since 1983, the Book Barn has offered area residents a chance to buy gently used books of all kinds for a small price. After closing in 2008, many locals waited patiently for the doors to the Baytown institution to reopen, a reality brought forth by new owner Bobbie Brown.
“I have always loved to read,” said Brown. “I always thought it would be so wonderful to own a book store.”
And now she does — along with all the books left there before the store closed and the new ones again arriving at the venue by people willing to share them with others.
Unfortunately, those books sitting enclosed for more than a year has left Brown with the arduous task of cleaning them — thousands of them. Each one must be taken down from the shelf, examined for damage, cleaned and dusted before it’s ready to meet the public.
“We’re open, but we still have a lot of work to do,” said Brown. “We’re moving books around, cleaning up … it takes a lot of time.”
Luckily, Brown isn’t alone in her endeavor. She’s got a family ready to step in and help where they can. Daughter Rebekah Zimmerman is handling much of the accounting and other business needs (“I’m pretty good at that stuff. Mom likes the books, I handle the money.”), while other daughter Sarah Zimmerman has recently left another job to help on weekends.
Brown, a mother of six, had been a full-time mom until recently, when the kids began going their separate ways for college and other endeavors. Of course, the costs of sending children to college can be steep, another reason — besides a voracious love of books — for Brown to open the Barn’s doors again.
“It’s a little rough trying to send the kids to school,” Brown said. “We thought that having this store would help out with the little expenses that came with it.”
The Book Barn has a history of being family-owned and family-run. The story began July 14, 1983, when Harley and Marian Ashley opened the store. Harley had recently retired from Sears, while Marian had retired from teaching French at Lee High School. They left the original location, 281 E. Texas Avenue, for the site where it now stands, 222 E. Texas Avenue, in 1984.
“Harley liked the business part of things,” Marian said. “I really liked to research.”
Marian said that the business brought them more than just an enterprise. “We made a lot of friends through the Book Barn,” she said. “It was a big part of a lot of peoples’ lives.”
In Sept. of 1992, the Ashleys sold the store to Harlon and Darlene Haley, who ran the business until son James and daughter-in-law Jacquelyn bought it from them later.
Predictably, the walls are lined with endless rows of books of all sizes and genres. “Chances are if you’re looking for something, you can find it here,” said Rebekah. “There’s so many books here, it would be hard not to.”
Brown is hoping to soon bring the fulfillment of a personal need to the store soon: curriculums for home-schooling.
“I home-schooled my children, and we had to drive into Houston to find the materials we needed,” said Brown. “There are more than 75 families in Baytown involved in home-schooling, and we would like to make it easier for them.”
Above all else, Brown says, she is just glad to see the Book Barn open its doors again.
“This has been such a big part of the community for so long,” Brown said. “I’m just glad to be a part of bringing it back.”
Baytown resident Malcolm Murray contributed to this report.
Published November 3, 2009 A small building on Texas Avenue is home to more than 40,000 stories, each one bound in its own cover. And, like the books held within, the Baytown Book Barn has a story too, one that now has a few new pages.
Since 1983, the Book Barn has offered area residents a chance to buy gently used books of all kinds for a small price. After closing in 2008, many locals waited patiently for the doors to the Baytown institution to reopen, a reality brought forth by new owner Bobbie Brown.
“I have always loved to read,” said Brown. “I always thought it would be so wonderful to own a book store.”
And now she does — along with all the books left there before the store closed and the new ones again arriving at the venue by people willing to share them with others.
Unfortunately, those books sitting enclosed for more than a year has left Brown with the arduous task of cleaning them — thousands of them. Each one must be taken down from the shelf, examined for damage, cleaned and dusted before it’s ready to meet the public.
“We’re open, but we still have a lot of work to do,” said Brown. “We’re moving books around, cleaning up … it takes a lot of time.”
Luckily, Brown isn’t alone in her endeavor. She’s got a family ready to step in and help where they can. Daughter Rebekah Zimmerman is handling much of the accounting and other business needs (“I’m pretty good at that stuff. Mom likes the books, I handle the money.”), while other daughter Sarah Zimmerman has recently left another job to help on weekends.
Brown, a mother of six, had been a full-time mom until recently, when the kids began going their separate ways for college and other endeavors. Of course, the costs of sending children to college can be steep, another reason — besides a voracious love of books — for Brown to open the Barn’s doors again.
“It’s a little rough trying to send the kids to school,” Brown said. “We thought that having this store would help out with the little expenses that came with it.”
The Book Barn has a history of being family-owned and family-run. The story began July 14, 1983, when Harley and Marian Ashley opened the store. Harley had recently retired from Sears, while Marian had retired from teaching French at Lee High School. They left the original location, 281 E. Texas Avenue, for the site where it now stands, 222 E. Texas Avenue, in 1984.
“Harley liked the business part of things,” Marian said. “I really liked to research.”
Marian said that the business brought them more than just an enterprise. “We made a lot of friends through the Book Barn,” she said. “It was a big part of a lot of peoples’ lives.”
In Sept. of 1992, the Ashleys sold the store to Harlon and Darlene Haley, who ran the business until son James and daughter-in-law Jacquelyn bought it from them later.
Predictably, the walls are lined with endless rows of books of all sizes and genres. “Chances are if you’re looking for something, you can find it here,” said Rebekah. “There’s so many books here, it would be hard not to.”
Brown is hoping to soon bring the fulfillment of a personal need to the store soon: curriculums for home-schooling.
“I home-schooled my children, and we had to drive into Houston to find the materials we needed,” said Brown. “There are more than 75 families in Baytown involved in home-schooling, and we would like to make it easier for them.”
Above all else, Brown says, she is just glad to see the Book Barn open its doors again.
“This has been such a big part of the community for so long,” Brown said. “I’m just glad to be a part of bringing it back.”
Baytown resident Malcolm Murray contributed to this report.