The Last Chapter

 "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us"

- Gandalf(The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien)

On a free morning before work I decided to head up to "The Shire" a couple of towns over from me to look for a book I've had a hard time finding, at least reasonably priced. It's out of print and thought what better place than this used bookshop to look for it. I had only in the past five years or so discovered "The Shire" and it's wonders. It is not your normal bookstore as it's part of a long retired mill factory typical in New England that also houses a fabric store, church and other business.

Caught at The Shire.

Upon entering won can not be at the very least awed at the shear volume books almost immediately. The height, length of shelves and sheer volume of books gives it the illusion of having no end. Upon first entering one might get the impression of chaos but if one looked closely you see stuff was organized by either subject or genre into little nooks. I usually had a hard time getting ten feet past the door as immediately after entering the door was the section on local New England books which I had a special interest in.

Imagine my surprise as I walk toward the door on a hot summer day to see a small handmade sign saying closed. At first I wondered if it was a normal day closed for some reason but in another window another sign saying "Permanently closed". That got my attention. I peer in the windows and sure enough it looked like someone was in process of packing boxes in books with some shelves already gone and a two wheel dolly waiting for someone to cart a load away. I went inside the foyer and looked in the tall bookshelves that dominated the rear 2/3's of the build were still full of books but area in front looked different and was in disarray as shelves were missing boxes looked like in the midst of being packed. I saw no one inside nor any further signage telling any information or reason of closing.

I got home and I did a little research and found an article mentioning "The Shire" and found out the elderly gentleman's name whom I always working there. It was co-owned by Jack Boland and Jean Wallick. The articles I found were not current so it didn't shed any light onto the reasoning of the closing. I Googled Jack Boland's name and came up an obituary of John Boland who recently passed away. Someone mentioned "The Shire" in the guestbook and I knew I had the right one. I had feared this was reason behind the closing. 

 

The news of Jack's passing made me wonder what is the future happening to The Shire Bookstore and it's vast collection. The Facebook page and website are still up as of this writing and with no news. I will miss the smell of old books and the site tall shelves that seemed endless. It makes me wish I had visited more often than I did. I will miss Jack who's gentle manner and looks reminded me of Gandalf from the fictional Shire and Jean who once even covered a book for me cause it had a small tear in jacket cover.  It's like the old adage that you don't know how much you'll miss something until it's gone.