This story was published in the September 2 edition of Westport Shorelines. It contains photos not printed in the Shorelines story.
49th Annual Westport Quaker Friends Meeting Used Book Fair
938 Main Road, Westport, MA
July 10, 2010
At precisely 11 AM on July 10, a shrill whistle blast is followed by a loud whoop, then near silence. Dr. Stuart Kirkaldy has kicked off the 49th Annual Westport Friends Used Book Fair. For the next forty five minutes, all you can hear under two giant yellow and white striped tents is the sound of hundreds of pairs of feet shuffling through the gravel on the ground and hushed whispers of the searchers.
Those colorful tents, erected in early July, are a huge bookmark to anyone driving past the Friends Meeting House on 938 Main Road. The book fair is always held on second Saturday of July. Every reading enthusiast, from serious commercial collectors to recreational readers in need of a page-turner for the beach, has the date scrawled in their calendars.
This crowd is on a mission. Their eyes are locked in on titles on the spines of the thousands of used books laid out on ancient wooden tables. Some have lists clutched in their hands. Others, veteran readers with prodigious memories for titles and authors, are ready to reach and pluck. Some have computer gizmos that can scan the ISBN number and come up with some esoteric information that might identify the book as a good eBay prospect.
It is almost comical to watch bargain hunters with a stack of paperbacks under one arm try to read the first few pages of a book of interest with the other free hand. Others fill cloth sacks, paper bags, or cartons to store their booky booty.
The types of shoppers are as varied as the books on the table. Seniors, teenagers, boomers, beach bums, nine to fivers on vacation, and little kids hanging on to an adult’s sleeve for dear life so they don’t get swallowed up by the rummaging book beast slowly grazing its way along the tables with single minded purpose.
For the Quaker Community that operates the book fair, this qualifies as a successful trifecta: a cash infusion to support the Meeting’s annual operating expenses, a chance to do good works by supporting charitable causes, and a way to brand themselves.
Meeting member Kevin Lee tapes a big sign on Greg Marsello’s T-shirt that reads: “Question? Ask a Quaker!”
“It’s part of our outreach program this year. Lots of people don’t know who we are or what our religion is. We printed bookmarks explaining a brief history of the Friends Meeting, worship times, directions to the Meeting House, and our web address,” Mr. Lee says.
Greg Marsello of Tiverton is the Steering Committee Clerk and oversees committees that are part of the scheme. He manages the tent committees, finance committees, hospitality committees, and sorting committees. By this morning, just about everyone in the small but robust Quaker community has been involved in the fair.
“Last year we sorted over 20,000 books over a period of eleven months. Every book we took in was sold or dispersed. We shipped the books that remained overseas or to places we knew that could use them or to a paper recycler. We start fresh every year,” Mr. Lee says.
For some book lovers the fair is the answer to The Dollar Store. While most books are priced individually, there are categories of six-for- a-dollar books and categories of more pricey hard cover first editions.
Book dealers are not involved in the pricing and sorting process and cannot get into the tent before that famous whistle blast at 11 AM. Since books have been known to be delivered by the pickup truck load, you never know what treasures will be unearthed. In the early years of the fair, a first edition of “Moby Dick” was found on one of the tables.
“What makes this work is their committee system. And they work very hard,” longtime Westport observer Jon Alden says.
Today, they’re having fun. The money is rolling in, the books are being carted out, and someone has asked a Quaker a question.
Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.
The waiting game
Waiting for the whistle
Show time
A keeper?
Dr.Stuart Kirkaldy, bookfair originator in 1962 and now retired, returns yearly to take in the action...and blow the opening whistle at 11:00 AM sharp
Got a question...?
Taking inventory
Why wait? Let's start reading now...
Feasting on books and food from the concession
What a haul!
Whewww. First wave of consumers has left, next wave, primarily from the beach, will pick up the slack at around 3 pm.
Cool!
Posted by: Susaan | July 20, 2010 at 02:18 PM
Paul, what a sweet story!
Posted by: Elaine O. | July 20, 2010 at 10:12 PM
Thanks, Elaine. I had fun watching the event unfold and even more fun writing about it.
Posted by: Paul aka pt at large | July 20, 2010 at 10:23 PM
I'll try to remember for next year. What a fun sounding event. Makes me want to go.
Posted by: Ann | July 21, 2010 at 09:38 AM