September 4, 2020, 10:14am
I love old Volkswagen vans and I love bookstores and because it’s Friday I also love feel good stories (I also love hardworking local newspaper headlines, but that’s another story). So that’s why I’m bringing your attention to the story of Melanie Moore, who at the very last second—the night before she was about to sign her brick-and-mortar lease, in fact—decided instead to “steal” her husband’s truck and start a roving book bus. Aka the Cincy Book Bus, a gorgeously restored 1962 Volkswagen Transporter.
Three years later, Moore’s decision is looking pretty good, as she hauls 150 books at a time to the book-buying public. But as the Cincinnati Enquirer describes, this is a labor of love for Moore:
For 25 years, Melanie Moore had taught students in inner cities. When she retired from that job, she set her sights on pursuing her lifelong dream of owning a bookstore, though she wasn’t quite done with the whole teaching-kids business. One hundred percent of her mobile shop’s profits go toward buying kids book or supporting charities that focus on children’s literacy.
Perhaps my favorite part of this story is how Moore calls the book bus “the Old Gal,” and says: “She’s a little rough to start… She’s not a morning person.” Normalize naming your vans!
Photo by Amanda Rossman.