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About The Whirligig...
In 1995 Betty and Bill bantered
about the idea of opening a small business when Bill planned early
retirement in 1999. Betty asked,
“Bill, what would you like to do?”
He wanted to “operate a used book store,”
and the idea for The Whirligig was born!
The location they have come to love – as have
their many loyal customers - for their book shop opened the 1st
of June in 1996. For the next 10
months, Betty operated the business, with Bill joining after work
each day.
This routine continued until the spring of 1997,
when Bill suffered a severe heart attack and was hospitalized for several
weeks, then retired two years earlier than he had planned.
With the support of hardworking staff and friends,
Betty was able to hold their idea together. Bill’s health improved with an
implanted defibrillator/pacemaker and after slow recovery, he was able to
carry on to enjoy his business fully.
On reflection, indeed, his medical teams attribute much of
his healthy state to the social interaction that comes with the ownership of
this marvelous little business in this lovely little town.
The used book’s inventory has now
been overtaken by new books, while Betty and Bill have seen many other
interesting products come and go.
The shop is also a main social centre in Shelburne,
operating as ticket box office for The Osprey Arts Theatre and many other
artistic events around this community - bringing buzz and excitement to
their daily activities.
The Whirligig, as it is commonly known, is in the
center of the Historic District of Shelburne. A good gathering place, much
conversation, discussion and debate take place. Many
acquaintances have been made and renewed, particularly with summer residents
and from visitors, either by automobile or by boat.
The hundreds of entries in the “Guest Book”
over the years are proof that this little shop is a place that matters in
people’s lives. Come and visit!
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Bill and Betty |
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We've got 1000s of books! |
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WHAT'S NEW...
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Loyalists and
Layabouts
Stephen Kimber "This extraordinary and yet
little-told episode from our nation's past is brought to
exciting life by award-winning journalist Stephen Kimber. Combining
painstaking research and a novelistic flair for narrative, he charts
Shelburne's "rapid rise and faster fall" through the
intertwined experiences of an eclectic collection of it's earlier
settlers, from aristocrats to freed slaves, colonial officials to
local entrepreneurs." (from book jacket)
$22.95 TRADE PAPERBACK
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The Book of Negroes
Lawrence Hill
"This remarkable novel transports
the reader from an African village to a plantation in the southern
United States, from a soured refuge in Nova Scotia to the coast of
Sierra Leone, in a back-to-Africa odyssey of 1,200 former
slaves. The Book of Negroes introduces one of the
strongest female characters in recent fiction, a woman who cuts a
swath through a world hostile to her colour and her sex."
(from book jacket)
Lawrence Hill is the author of several
novels and works of non-fiction, including Black Berry,
Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada; Any Known Blood; and
Some Great Thing. Lawrence Hill lives in Burlington,
Ontario.
$24.95 TRADE PAPERBACK
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The Christmas Tree : Two Tales for the
Holidays
David Adams Richards
"Two utterly charming Christmas tales by
master storyteller David Adams Richards that will surely warm the heart and
remind us of the enchantment and meaning of Christmas. These stories are of
his river, the great Miramichi.
The Christmas Tree is a delightful book
to give and receive, and will become a traditional holiday read for many
years to come." (from book jacket)
$16.00 HARDCOVER
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From Land and Sea: Nova
Scotia's Contemporary Landscape Artists
Dee Appleby
From Land and Sea presents over 65 of
the province’s contemporary landscape artists and their works. Each
profiled artist appears with a short bio and artist’s statement, along with
examples of his or her art. The artists covered in this book represent a wide
range of styles prevalent in Nova Scotia landscape art today. (from
publisher's website)
$29.95 HARDCOVER
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Shattered City : The Halifax Explosion & the Road
to Recovery
Janet F. Kitz
"In December 1917 Halifax was alive with excitement.
The streets were filled with troops, and the city, far removed from the
bitter fighting in Europe, was reaping all the advantages of war. On the
morning of December 6, however, the bloodshed came to Halifax with a
vengeance when a French munitions ship and a Belgian relief vessel collided
in the harbour.
Jane Kitz's book is the most comprehensive one ever written on the explosion.
It encompasses dozens of previously unpublished stories, photographs and
documents, along with some thought-provoking coverage of the inquiry into the
disaster." ( from back cover)
$19.95 TRADE PAPERBACK
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The Children of Africville
Christine Welldon "The
children of Africville, Nova Scotia, lived in a special community where
everyone knew their neighbours, and all helped and cared for each other. It
was the perfect place for children to play and grow up. The Children of
Africville is the remarkable story of these children during the community's
final years, before it was torn down and its families were relocated. Full of
photographs and stories from Africville people, this book is an important
celebration of Nova Scotia black history, its vibrant community, and the
children who lived there." (from back cover)
$14.95 PAPERBACK
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Black Snow : A Story of Love and Destruction
Jon Tattrie
"Black Snow is a love story set during
the Halifax Explosion. The 1917 disaster was the largest man-made blast the
world had ever known, and it cut Halifax off from the rest of the world for
the darkest thirty-six hours in its history. Rich in fact and shocking
images, the story sets a blistering pace following one man's search through a
ruined city for the love of his life as he confronts the wreckage of his
past." (from back cover)
$19.95 TRADE PAPERBACK
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^^TOP^^
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