It is time to wish a happy 10th birthday to Millicent’s sole second-hand bookstore.
The Lions Club of Wattle Range Lioness bookshop is in George Street and is opposite St Michael and All Angels Anglican Church.
Staffed by volunteers, all the money raised through the shop for the past decade has helped to fund the work the club does for the local community.
It is also able to make grants to charities, causes and community groups.
Thanks to the generosity of donors and buyers, many thousands of dollars have been raised over the past 10 years from the sale of books, jigsaw puzzles and DVDs,
Along with Millicent’s five Op Shops, the book store has become a tourist attraction in its own right. Its celebrity customers have included Adelaide media identity Peter Goers.
After being a pop-up stall at some Geltwood Markets dating back to 2015, the bookstore has had five other bricks and mortar homes.
Club member Ruth Stratford has kindly provided these edited notes about the history of the bookshop.
“We held a garage sale in 2014 including heaps of books,” Ms Stratford said.
“They sold well but we had plenty left over.
“In the following year, club member Brenda Trotter suggested we try a book stall in a vacant shop during the Geltwood Festival.
“We were absolutely inundated with books from the community.
“This was followed by a second sale in May at the Lions Den.
“We probably received as many books as we sold.
“In September 2015, we had a generous offer from two local business owners Joan Morgan and Elva Sinclair to allow us to use their empty Davenport Street shop rent free.
“This gave us the opportunity to prove if we could run a second-hand shop.
“With some ups and downs, we have not looked back.
“Our wonderful community kept us supplied with bags and boxes of books, carloads of books and yes, even a ute load of books.
“Some books came from as far away as Naracoorte and Kingston.”
Due to various factors, Ms Stratford said the bookshop moved to the IGA complex in 2019 and then to 35 George Street in 2021.
During the height of COVID, the bookshop closed for three months.
The move to the current location of 47A George Street took place over the summer of 2023/24.
“We received a generous offer from a podiatrist to share the former antique shop and this provided a cheaper cost,” Ms Stratford said.
“This shop needed repairs and painting and so we were shut for three months.
“With our savings at the shared shop, hopefully we can distribute the profits around the area.
“I do wonder about all those books: they are far too good for landfill.”
