Just out., June 01, 1990, Page 12, Image 12

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This
woman
was never
accused
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Paul
Mitchell
A Woman's Place plans to close doors
Staff cites rising debt, shrinking support
day,” said Koehl, who was the store’s
manager from 1984 until last January. “It was
trying to find ways to make the bookstore
fter 17 years as Portland’s only feminist
viable and still remain constant to feminist
book retailer, A Woman’s Place
Bookstore will close its doors June 9. Store ideals.”
managers and board members plan to file for In 1985 the store moved to its current
location at 1431 NE Broadway. For a while,
bankruptcy shortly afterward.
business picked up, and Koehl believed that A
Diana Cohen, one of four current
Woman’s Place might finally be able to climb
managers, said a combination of the store’s
out
of debt.
nearly $30,000 debt, a history of erratic
In the meantime, feminist literature had
bookkeeping and a loss of confidence and
begun
to enter the mainstream. “Suddenly our
interest from the community all contributed to
sales dropped. The book market started
the decision to close.
realizing feminist books were a viable trade.
But the catalyst was the recent decision of
Every bookstore in town had a women’s
Naiad Press, the publisher of dozens of
studies section. We weren’t unique anymore,”
lesbian novels, to stop sending books to the
Koehl said.
store.
Beginning in 1987, Koehl recalled, she had
“We can’t really get any of the books that
a
hard
time recruiting volunteers.
we want,’* Cohen said. “We could get enough
Gentrification came to Northeast Broadway,
books to have a bookstore, but not to have the
and the rent scooted up. The debt increased.
quality feminist bookstore people want.”
Several publishers stopped sending books.
As the bookstore’s inventory thinned over
Customers browsed the thinning racks and
the past two years, so did interest and
went away discouraged.
involvement. Only six people now serve on
Kathleen Ellis, current board president,
the 13-position board of directors. Staff
said
that years of erratic bookkeeping left new
members have struggled to recruit volunteers
staff and board members frustrated. “Records
for shifts behind the cash register. And
weren’t maintained in an organized fashion.
customers took their reading habits elsewhere.
Because of the turnover in staff, information
“I have felt betrayed from time to time —
wasn’t passed on from one person to the
that people don’t say, ‘This is group-run, and
I’ll shop here first.’ They go to Powell’s
next.”
because they have more books,” Cohen said.
And each new set of women involved with
“It’s the Fred Meyer mentality — one-stop
the store debated the conflict between ideals
shopping.”
and red ink. Should the store devote space to a
In some ways, the store’s history mirrors
lending library and bulletin boards, areas that
that of the women’s movement, from the
served the community but did not contribute
vigorous flush of the early 1970s to a
to profit? Should the store provide referrals
mainstreaming of feminist values in a
for women, or was that the job of another
marketplace that demands sound business
organization?
sense as well as high ideals.
“It’s been one of the major ideological
The store was launched in 1973 by a
problems,” said Cohen. “We wanted to
collective of women who held bake sales and
provide all these services, and we wanted to
beer bashes to finance its opening. They paid
be a business.”
salaries with CETA money from the federal
The store is currently selling out its stock;
government and used volunteers to do the rest
customers are invited to visit for refresh­
of the work.
ments and final sales on closing day,
When Sarah Koehl joined the collective in
Saturday, June 9.
1982, the store had just moved to a tiny
Current and former staff members said
building on South East Ankeny Street.
they believed Portland could support a
By that time, “CETA funding was non­
femyiist bookstore, if it was launched with
existent,” she remembered. ‘There was no
tighter bookkeeping, efforts to reach a wider
paid manager. Everyone was really burned
market and a more consistent sense of
out It was a really sad-looking place.” Within
purpose.
a year, the collective dropped from eight
“I’ve been going over it in my head,
members to three, and the remaining women
thinking: What’s the lesson to be learned?,”
decided to change their recruiting tactics.
said Koehl. “And I don’t know that there is
They advertised for women interested in
one. It was important that the bookstore was
learning to run a small business, and in 1984,
there. I know it changed women’s lives — not
switched from a collective structure to a board
just volunteers, but customers. We kept it
of directors.
alive for 17 years. We did an amazing thing.”
"That restructuring has gone on to this
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June 1990
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Services: Sunday 10:00 am
Wednesday 7:30 pm
For information call:
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2300 NW 30th, Portland
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