New chapter for DeLand's Family Book Shop

BEACON PHOTO/DEB VAN PATTEN
Changing hands — Family Book Shop owner Judy Mathys, left, has sold the store to longtime customer Cindy Raible, right.

By Deb Van Patten
SPECIAL TO THE BEACON

posted Nov 21, 2009 - 11:24:30am

Among West Volusia book lovers, the story of the Family Book Shop is a well-known tale.

It all started in 1976 with a box of books on the back porch of Judy Mathys, a single mother on welfare waiting for a teaching job to open up.

The box of books grew into a store.

Through 32 years of leaky roofs and too-small buildings, Mathys, with the help of her daughters, her loyal employees, and a herd of cats, built a bookstore that has become a North DeLand landmark and a bit of an area legend.

On Sept. 2, the Family Book Shop saga started a new chapter when Mathys passed the reins to new owner Cindy Raible.

In July, Raible, a longtime customer, dropped into the Family Book Shop for a visit.

“She asked me how I was doing,” Mathys recalled. “I replied the way I sometimes do in the afternoon: ‘I’m tired. Do you want to buy a bookstore?’”

For Raible, a book lover, avid skydiver and former bookkeeper, it wasn’t just a passing question.

“I went home and thought about it,” Raible said. “A couple of days later, I went back and asked, ‘Were you serious?’”

It was a serious decision for Mathys, who reared three children while running the store.

“This was my fourth child,” she said. “If you’re going to give care of your child away, you want someone who will love it.”

In the end, Mathys agreed to sell to Raible.

“There was no question that Cindy loved it,” Mathys said. “I couldn’t have asked for someone that loved it more.”

How has becoming the store’s owner changed Raible’s life?

“In every way imaginable,” Raible answered, with a laugh.

Her husband, Mike, has been very supportive. One way he helps is by bringing Aggie, the couple’s golden retriever, to the store for frequent visits.

“The only thing I regret is that I don’t have time to read anything anymore except for trade magazines and homework,” Cindy Raible said.

Raible will be keeping the same Web site (www.wordperson.net), and the same hours, with one exception.

“We’ll be open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday through Christmas Eve,” she said.

Regular Family Book Shop patrons will also be delighted to find that the store’s popular staff and ever-present cats will retain their roles.

“I inherited a gold mine in staff,” Raible said. “They keep me from making mistakes. Between the five of them, they’re one brain.”

There will be small changes. Raible has added new carpeting, and dreams of adding a coffee corner with seating.

For the time being, she is content to just “maintain the niche,” she said.

“I want to add to it, not change it,” Raible added. “It’s a great place just like it is.”

The story of Mathys’ life has taken a new turn.

“I have very mixed emotions,” she said. “Now, I can sleep until 9. I’ve never done that. I’m still lost.”

So, will Mathys return to bookselling?

“The contract says I can’t open a shop for five years or within 15 miles, but give me five years and one day, and I’ll be back in the saddle,” Mathys said.

She pauses, and rethinks her answer.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I miss it now, but I guess I’ll just have to see where the story goes.”

— info@beacononlinenews.com

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