A Story Well Told.
Bar Harbor Bookstore Icon Deb Taylor Retires After 41 Years.
BAR HARBOR—When Deb Taylor first came to Bar Harbor to work at Testa’s Restaurant one summer, she fell in love at first sight . . . with a bookstore.
“I fell in love with Sherman’s immediately, and spent a lot of tip money there,” Taylor said. “When I decided to move back to Maine year round, Sherman’s was where I really wanted to work, but it was a small year round crew and I didn’t think I could get on.”
She tried anyway.
“Theresa Hodgkins decided to travel, so I was hired to replace her, and worked with Lola Abbot, Betty Parsons, and Antje Ludwig. I was the youngster,” she said. “I hoped to work here ‘til I retired, and whatever I do I commit 100%. If books are involved, maybe even higher.”
No one could say that Taylor didn’t commit 110% to Sherman’s, to the community, and to books.
Now, Taylor is retiring after 41 years at the bookstore, spending a lifetime in the place she loves: a place full of books and energy and people in Bar Harbor’s busiest section of town.
“Deb Taylor made Sherman's a true partner with the Jesup in bringing a wide variety of stellar authors to our community,” said the Jesup Library’s former director Ruth Eveland. “Together we sponsored dozens of programs every year, giving authors a chance to find new readers. Deb was a dream to work with—she had terrific suggestions, and when we went for a ‘reach’ author she was often able to help make it so. Bar Harbor became a destination for many authors, from first timers to well-established writers. I know this is a stretch, but I hope that Deb can spend even more time reading now!”
Taylor always had a collaborative energy when it came to books and authors and humans who read. She reads stories, but also reads people, noticing growth and change in the customers she served, the writers she knew, the friends she worked with, and she is never hesitant to give praise about the positive story arc of her friends and colleagues.
“Working with Debbie when I was at the Jesup was always fantastic,” said Mel Rice. “Debbie helped make possible the growth and success of our growing author programs. She's a passionate advocate of reading and literacy, and loves books, authors and libraries. She worked with us to staff author events for book sales, and order books for them. Even when it wasn't possible for Sherman's staff to attend the events, she worked hard to get the books we needed. She gave terrific suggestions for authors for us to bring in. Sherman's has a terrific staff to this day, but there is no one quite like Debbie.”
Taylor said she has noticed some changes in the book world during her positions as clerk, book-buyer, book-buyer and manager, and then just book-buyer in the last few years as she edged toward retirement by reducing the number of hours she worked.
She’s seen a lot of changes in the industry during those four decades.
“Book choices are more diverse (Yay!). One thing I’ve noticed is that book lovers absolutely cherish finding an independent bookstore. Fortunately, for Sherman’s, we’ve been able to thrive, in part being in locations people want to travel to for vacations, and in part because we’ve grown with the times to provide what people are looking for, just as Mike and Pat Curtis did when they opened the store,” Taylor said.
Mike and Pat Curtis hired Taylor and then Jeff Curtis kept her on when he took ownership of the stores. When it came to buying books, she listened to Mike Curtis’ advice.
“I got a lot of help from book rep input, and after we started using computers, it was much easier to keep track of sales history as an indicator. I told Pat that I was going to take a computer class. She said if I did that, she’d pay for it, because she wanted to use computer for the business. Prior to that I relied on my memory, which was actually quite good! To buy, I followed Mike Curtis’ advice which was ‘Buy books that you like. Buy books you think that others will like. Buy books that you’ve never seen anywhere else,’” Taylor said.
The hardest thing she’s ever done on the job, she said, was deciding to retire.
“The people I worked for, the people I worked with, the book-loving customers who came in asking for advice, working with book reps and seeing new books every day” were the best things, she said.
That respect and kindness goes both ways.
"Deb has been the heart and soul of Sherman's for over 40 years. She is a strong supporter of Maine authors and has introduced us to many great books over the year,” Jeff Curtis said. “Sherman's is a better store because of Deb and she will be greatly missed!"
When it comes to retirement, it’s bittersweet.
“I’m looking forward to not having to contend with Bar Harbor traffic in the summer, and road conditions in the winter, sleeping late if I want, taking a walk whenever I want, but I’ll miss being there.”
Mount Desert Island is going to miss her being there, too. It’ll be a big kind of missing because Deb Taylor was a big, brilliant presence, always there, always competent, and always so knowledgable about both books and the people who write and read them. She officially retires September 24.
THE INTERVIEW
Deb was kind enough to give us a quick interview
Do you have any anecdotes from your time at the store that you’d like to share?
My two favorites are when Mike Curtis told me he was giving me a good raise, but he couldn’t afford to pay me what I was worth. Nobody could.
That meant the world to me.
The other is when Pat retired, and Jeff bought the business, we met at Pat’s house, and I asked Jeff, “Will you be keeping me on?”
He said something like “you’re part of the deal, or it isn’t happening.”
Witty, just like his father.
You had to wrangle a lot of authors and host a lot of events at Sherman’s? Do any of those stand out?
So many of them do. Here are some: Kristen Britain, Linda Greenlaw, Carrie Jones, Earl Brechlin, Ann Patchett, Cathie Pelletier, Cynthia Thayer, Tabitha King, Ashley Bryan, Brian Lies, Morgan Talty, Marpheen Chan, Monica Wood, Lily King, Amy Goodman, Roxana Robinson, Martha Dudman, Blue Butterfield, Carl Little, Dean Lunt, Tomi dePaola, Chris Van Dusan, Paul Doiron, Angus King, George Mitchell, and hundreds more. Many took place at Sherman’s Bar Harbor, a few at College of the Atlantic, and many at Jesup Memorial Library when Ruth Eveland, Mel Rice, and I worked hard to establish a robust author program, which we accomplished.
Is there anyone you’d like to mention?
A special thank you to owners Jeff Curtis and Maria Boord Curtis, and to general manager Mica Peruzzi, for their inclusive style of leadership. I’ve worked with Laura Schroeder and Lisa Etow for decades, and I will really miss them. I’ll also really miss Chris Anglin, with whom I’ve worked most closely the last few years. I’ll miss everyone, but those especially.
This story was updated on September 4 at 10 a.m. to include a comment by Mel Rice.
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