BY KATHLEEN O’CONNOR/YachatsNews
What do you do when your business partner wants to retire before you do? You hope to find a new one, equally as perfect as the one who is moving on.
Mary Crook, one of the owners of Books and More in Yachats, was lucky enough to be able to do just that. Her partner for the last 3½ years, Yvonne Erickson, decided to retire at just about the same time that Crook met Shelley Yates, who was looking for a place to fit in her new hometown.
They hit it off almost immediately and soon started talking about Yates taking Erickson’s place.
Crook came to Yachats about 24 years ago, leaving a job in human resources at The Oregonian without knowing what she would do when she got here. She became an ordained interfaith minister and started Weddings by the Sea, officiating marriage ceremonies, writing wedding vows, and performing blessings of all types.
The business was a big success, but her dream had always been to have a bookstore. So when Mari’s Books came up for sale she and Erickson jumped at the chance to buy it, renaming it Books and More.
Yates grew up in central Texas, has a college degree in psychology, and lived in several parts of the country before landing in Portland eight years ago. She’s has been a self-employed artist for many years, primarily painting landscapes in acrylic. Along the way she’s figured out ways to supplement her income, always adding to her life experiences.
But she wanted out of Portland and to move to the coast, and was lucky enough to find an apartment to rent in Yachats 13 months ago.
Question: Starting a new partnership is a big decision. What made each of you decide to move ahead?
Crook: It was a delight to visit with Shelley when she first came into the store. There was an immediate feeling of affinity and rapport. I quickly came to see that she has a true entrepreneurial spirit, and she showed her willingness to learn more by enrolling in the Small Business Management Course at Oregon Coast Community College.
Yates: Books and More has genuine positive energy and Mary is clearly the main source of that energy. The best job I ever had was working in a small bookstore in Nederland, Colo. I love books as much as Mary does, and I was elated to be presented with the opportunity to do something that I know I love, and to do it with someone who can teach me so much. I’ve got a side job as a front desk person at the Sylvia Hotel in Newport two nights a week while I’m learning.
Q: Each of you came to Yachats without a real plan. What made you choose Yachats?
Crook: I have always lived on the West Coast, from Hollywood to Vancouver, B.C. The farthest inland I have lived is Portland. I purchased a lot in Yachats many years ago, choosing it because it was far from established tourist destinations at the time.
Yates: When I first visited Yachats I immediately felt a sense of community. I have lived in very small towns twice in the past and I learned that I loved village life. One small town was Nederland … locals there were known as Nedheads. The other small town was Madrid, New Mexico … locals there were known as Madroids. I know it will be a while before I can call myself a Yachatian, but I’m on my way.
Q: Why do you feel that Books and More, and Mari’s Books before that, has been a success?
A: The bookstore strives to honor the community by providing books that reflect reasons for its success — books by local authors and books about local people, local color, local surroundings, local resources, and local wisdom.
More importantly, the store is intimate and sweet, and often magical in two ways. First, sometimes we can connect a customer with a book we feel will be perfect for him or her, and second, our customers often connect with one another as they are browsing, creating a joyful moment in everyone’s day. It is an absolute pleasure for us to see this happen.
Q: There are so many books. How do you know which ones to display in your shop?
A: We are always sorting through boxes of books that people either want to donate or sell. Some decisions are easy … classics or mysteries, for example, but much of the time we just don’t know whether a book will be a hit or not. We are often surprised in a good way by what sells.
Q: Dark stormy days must be very slow. What do you do in the store on those days?
A: Surprisingly, there’s always something to do, even in this very small space. We rearrange books to create new energy. We put books back in order since our customers often don’t find quite the right spot. We get to have long conversations with customers. We get to catch up on bookwork. We get to contemplate being grateful. And we can always read!
Q: Tell us a secret.
A: There is a benign monster under the bookstore which manifests itself as a giant snapdragon every year, coming up through a crack in the sidewalk in front of the store. We figure it’s a bit of symbolism. Yachats runs on volunteerism, and our snapdragon volunteers to grow every single year.
- Books and More: 265 U.S. Highway 101, Yachats; Facebook: Books and More; Telephone: 541-547-3022; Email: booksandmore@peak.org
- Kathleen O’Connor is a Waldport freelance writer who can be reached via email at kmoc8916@gmail.com
- “5 Questions and a Secret” appears every other week on YachatsNews. Have a suggestion for a subject? Send your ideas to YachatsNews@gmail.com
My wife & I were in town for about 12 days earlier this month (yes, including the storms and power outage), and a stop at Books & More not only gave us time to chat with Mary but also led to her ordering a copy of a book I’d been looking forward to reading. A week later she called to say it was in and we had yet another great conversation, but then we saw her again at the Agate Festival and she remembered both my name and Sandy’s. While we had loved and shopped at Mari’s Books for years, it seems that Books & More is giving us just that — SO much more. Thanks for the fine write-up on a pair of women who are clearly invested in the community and who also serve as ambassadors for everything we love about the community of Yachats.
This wonderful interview article and bookstore is so genuine and enthusiastic. I always go to this bookstore when I visit. These bi-weekly interviews are so great.
In all the years I’ve popped into this bookstore, sometimes for a quick visit and sometimes for a longer perusal of books, I’ve always had a fun conversation with the person who was running it. When it was Mari’s I asked one question about her decision to move to Yachats and we had along discussion on life’s decisions and where they can take us. This bookstore is a gem and Yachats certainly benefits from having it right in the middle of town.