news
Once in a
Blue Moon
A BELOVED NICHE BOOKSTORE IN
EUGENE WILL SOON CLOSE ITS
DOORS FOR GOOD
By Colin Houck
A
s of September, Eugene will have one
less independently owned bookstore.
In its place will be an expanded liquor
store.
Blue Moon Books owner Dona
Wilson says she is closing up shop
after nearly 10 years in business due
to having lost the lease on her location in the Big Y
Center on West 6th Avenue. Wilson says the landlord
informed her that a neighboring business, Big Y Liquor,
will be moving into the space.
Blue Moon’s closing comes at a time when
independent booksellers are generally seeing increased
sales despite competition from big retailers like Barnes
& Noble and the online giant Amazon. According to
data from the Association of American Publishers,
hardcover book sales have increased 6.9 percent while
e-book sales have declined 3.6 percent.
Reports aggregated by the American Booksellers
Association indicate small independent shops are
seeing a healthy part of those sales.
Wilson says she was never in real competition with
the big stores, as she served a niche-market — one that
will be sorely missed, according to comments she says
she’s received.
Blue Moon specialized in mass-market fiction,
including crime novels, mysteries, western novels and
romance novels. Wilson noted Blue Moon was also
known for its sizeable comic book selection in addition
to having a unique trade-in policy that was particularly
popular.
“That’s the big vacuum that’s going to be left. For
BLUE MOON OWNER
DONA WILSON
PREPARES TO
LIQUIDATE HER
STOCK OF BOOKS
Photo by Colin Houck
the mass-market fiction, there’s no stores left in town
carrying that, and there are actually no used bookstores
in Springfield, period,” she says. “All of my customers
are asking ‘Where can I go?’ and I can only tell them
there’s a store in Corvallis I know of.”
Smith Family Bookstore says it buys and sells used
books, but does not have a trade-in policy, nor does it
buy romances, according to its website. Tsunami Books
says it will begin accepting trade-ins in September.
Both of those shops, however, are different from Blue
Moon in terms of selection. Wilson says while she would
like to continue on with the bookstore, the timing and
expense of relocating to a new location would be too
overwhelming. She adds that she will continue selling
comic books.
“It’s just not feasible, so we’re calling it on the books,
which is unfortunate,” Wilson says. “The comics we’ll
keep. We put on Sasquatch Comic Swap twice a year at
the Elks Club and we’re booked out at comic book shows
into 2020.”
HAPPENING PEOPLE
The idea for Blue Moon Books came about, Wilson
says, after her father passed in 2010. She recalled
her mother operating a bookstore in her childhood.
During the process of dealing with her father’s book
collection, she was faced with the decision of getting rid
of everything or to “just go for it.”
As for her experience running a bookstore, Wilson
says it hasn’t been easy.
“You know, it’s been a struggle,” she says. “But I just
enjoy books. I’ve had some of the best customers, so
there’s that reward. It’s not something you’re ever going
to get rich off of.”
Wilson says her landlord is working with her during
the liquidation process, and she may be able to continue
that process through the first half of September, though
no firm arrangements have been made.
Prices will continue to go down on remaining inventory
every Sunday while Blue Moon Books is open. ■
Blue Moon Books is located at 2166 W. 6th Avenue in Eugene. Its hours
of operation are from 9 am to 5 pm. Inquiries can be made by phone at
541-485-2665.
BY PAU L N E EVE L
Charlene Bigelow
“I enjoy learning about people’s lives and their history,” says Charlene
Bigelow, who has put in 17 years as a volunteer long-term care ombudsman
in Eugene-area facilities. “I found out about it in the AARP magazine when
my parents were aging. I thought it might be useful and it appealed to
me.” Certified ombudsman volunteers are independent citizen advocates
who listen to and address the concerns of residents in long-term care
facilities. Since her initial 48-hour certification course, Bigelow has
worked at nursing homes, adult foster homes and assisted living facilities.
Her current assignment is Waterford Grand, a riverbank retirement
community offering assisted living and memory care. “I am an advocate,”
she says. “I make sure that their rights are upheld and that their concerns
are investigated and resolved.” She introduces herself at resident council
meetings, knocks on doors to explain the program and mentors newly
certified ombudsmen. A longtime certified master gardener, she is on
the Oregon State University Extension Service’s adaptive gardening
committee, developing techniques and tools for gardeners with physical
limitations. “I took extra training in memory care,” says Bigelow, who
facilitates caregiver support groups for the Alzheimer’s Association and
helps in planning for its Oct. 13 fundraiser, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
She also mentors recently released inmates for Sponsors, Inc. “It keeps
me busy,” says Bigelow, winner of a few volunteer-of-the-year awards.
“I’m probably out doing something five days out of seven.” She began her
volunteer career as the mother of four in Phoenix, Arizona, her hometown,
where she spent 14 years as a homeroom mom at her kids’ school. Her
husband, Doug Bigelow, is an Oregon native whose family once owned
Belknap Hot Springs Resort. When he retired in 1997, the couple moved
to Oregon, toured the state with a travel trailer and settled in Eugene.
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