As an only child, and a girl child at that, this is my way of honoring the most important man in my life, my dad.  Since the Starr name will not be officially continued, I felt this was a great way to honor my parents for the many sacrifices they made for me when I was growing up.

My dad worked on the family farm until he was drafted into the Vietnam War at age 20.  After serving 2 years, in Vietnam itself, he returned home, where he met my mom and had me.

While I was very little, he worked full time in a factory and several nights and weekends at a garage, to support us.  Any free time he had was spent coaching me and the neighborhood kids in baseball and softball.  He also played on several softball teams himself.  All of his hard work allowed them to give me a college education, one of only a few to do so in the family.

I credit both of my parents for instilling in me a love of reading.  Most nights, my parents would read me stories before bed. Some of my earliest memories are seeing my dad reading his westerns at the kitchen table, while drinking his hot tea.

For a long as I can remember, I have always wanted to work in/own a book store.  It wasn’t until after my first child was born, that I was able to finally fulfill that dream.  Over the next 20 years, I worked in various book stores, always with the hope that one day I would be a book store owner. My dad always encouraged me to not give up and keep fighting for it.

He has become the store’s biggest advocate, telling everyone far and wide about the store and handing out hundreds of bookmarks and business cards.  He constructed and painted many of the new shelves for the original store.

I decided to officially change the name once my dad was diagnosed with lung, then brain cancer. Sadly, Dad passed away in Sept of 2016 before he could see the new location, but he did get to see his name in lights at Douglassville.

Love you Dad!  So proud of all you and Mom have accomplished in your life.

– Rebecca Cinti