George Bauman stands in front of a shelf in Acorn Bookshop. Photos courtesy of Jeffrey S. Hall Photography
A young child hides under the covers long after bedtime, reading a book by the light of a flashlight. He tries desperately to muffle the sounds of pages turning, afraid his parents might catch him and take away the book again. It may be a cliché, but that image was reality for Upper Arlington resident and store owner George Bauman.
The son of a school teacher father and bookstore manager mother, and the nephew of an English teacher, Bauman’s passion for books was written in stone starting at a young age. The 70-year-old Pennsylvania native says his father taught him business, his mother taught him bookstore management and his aunt, Margaret Cowmeadow, taught him a passion for reading.
“I had great role models,” says Bauman. “I was one of the first in school to start reading, I was one of the first to start wearing glasses, and that led to nicknames like ‘Four Eyes.’”
It was only natural that Bauman own his own bookstore one day. He began fantasizing about it in college, after reading the 1919 classic The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley. Little did he know that he would one day own a cornerstone of Upper Arlington: the Acorn Bookshop. He would later dedicate the shop to Cowmeadow.
Like his passion for books, Bauman’s presence in bookstores began when he was young. Prior to Acorn, Bauman managed 14 bookshops from Pennsylvania and West Virginia to Wisconsin; his first bookstore job being at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pa. Bauman even sold a copy of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to the author herself – in an airport, of all places – after Maya Angelou had forgotten her own copy and was presenting the same day at the University of Pittsburgh.
The most interesting bookstore on Bauman’s resume, however, was a floating one. In 1984, he managed the bookshop aboard the S.S. Universe for the Semester at Sea program with his wife of now 34 years, Linda Mizejewski, a professor in the department of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at The Ohio State University. The Semester at Sea program housed 500 college students through the University of Pittsburgh, and among the S.S. Universe’s stops were Brazil, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Japan. The task was an exciting and challenging one for Bauman.
“You’re dealing with the literature of nine different countries, and trying to encourage students to read those books that are essential to the culture and to buy phrasebooks so that they can communicate with the locals,” says Bauman. “Doing that for each of those countries was a thrill. … How can you beat that kind of experience?”
After much travel, Mizejewski and Bauman decided to settle down in Columbus due to job opportunities and close proximity to family in Pittsburgh. Bauman immediately went on the search for a new bookshop to call home. Now-retired Stuart Wheeler opened Acorn Bookshop in 1992, and Bauman joined the team in 1999.
Over the course of the 24 years since its opening, the bookshop has grown enormously – just like a tree blossoming from an acorn.
“We outgrew the space years and years ago, and I don’t know how we’ve managed to buy books and stuff them into the corners,” says Bauman. “I’ve always wanted to peel off the roof like a can of sardines, but I don’t know if my landlord would appreciate it.”
Acorn’s shelves are exclusively filled by purchases from customers. The best finds, Bauman says, come from book collectors who downsized or died. Family members call in Acorn staff members to look at the collections of the deceased.
One of Bauman’s favorite memories comes from a regular who had his eye on a first-edition copy of A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton (1982). One day, the customer came in, seemingly distressed, and paced back and forth in front of the display case in which the book was held. When Bauman asked what was wrong, the customer replied that he was trying to work up the courage to spend the $1,100 on the copy. Noting that the customer had been coming in frequently to look at the book, Bauman asked, “Why today?” The customer responded that it was Sue Grafton’s birthday. He left Acorn Bookshop that day with A is for Alibi in his hands.
“There are just so many wonderful experiences,” says Bauman. “When you have a bookshop, it attracts a lot of eccentric people; if you’re paying attention, you can get wonderful stories out of them. Not only do they come to buy stories, but they leave stories behind.”
One could easily say I've done my share; I've put over one million books into the world.
In an essay Bauman wrote to celebrate his 50th year as a bookseller, he notes that he’s sold it all: “From 35-cent paperbacks to a $27,500 Book of Mormon (1837).” In his now-52 years as a bookseller, Bauman has accumulated as many stories from walk-ins as books on Acorn’s shelves.
And Acorn’s inventory varies widely. Bauman stocks books new and old, from children’s books and classics to first-edition rarities. Acorn’s location – smack-dab between Upper Arlington and Grandview Heights – has been hugely beneficial to the store, says Bauman.
“It’s an educated community, and so we see a lot of people appreciating good-quality literature,” he says. “So because of the education level of those two communities, we have responded by stocking high-level, quality books for all of the family.”
Bauman says he is asked frequently about retirement; 52 years of lifting heavy boxes of books and stocking high shelves is hard physical work. But book lovers need not worry about turning the last page of Acorn’s history book any time soon.
“One could easily say I’ve done my share; I’ve put over one million books into the world, but I enjoy it so much,” Bauman says. “Every time our lease is up at the store – every three years – I say, ‘Geez, is it time to retire?’ I say, ‘Not yet.’ I think that’s the best answer I can give: Not yet.”
Amanda DePerro is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
