Thankful for the book store

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December 4, 2008

Anonymous The Zope Gazette Thu Dec 04, 2008, 04:44 PM CST

To the editor:

I am so pleased to find that the bookstore The Next Chapter has opened on the Knoxville square. The store has a good selection of books (you can order any not in stock) as well as gifts for all ages.

I've made several purchases for birthdays, for Christmas and for myself, of course. There are even chocolates. What could be better than books and chocolates?

At one time nearly every town of any size had an independent book store but now they are considered endangered species. For as long as I can remember Pella had such a book store called Main Street Books (even after it moved to Franklin St.) and suddenly about two years ago it was gone. Why? Lots of reasons, but mainly I think everyone took it for granted that it would always be there. So, instead of going down to the local book store to see what was available, customers began picking up books in non book stores that carried a few books, driving to Des Moines to shop the large chain book stores and ordering through the Internet. Don't let this happen to the Next Chapter.

The Knoxville square was once a vibrant shopping center. We are unlikely to see the return of the kinds of stores that once lined the square but there will be no stores at all if we fail to patronize the ones that are there.

There is such nostalgia for the small town square that savvy developers have become placing a small town square shopping center in new housing developments.

Knoxville already has that square with a beautiful courthouse. Why not let The Next Chapter be the catalyst for a new chapter on the Knoxville square?

Helen Boertje

Pella

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