Norwell woman finds second career in Cohasset bookstore

Title:
Norwell woman finds second career in Cohasset bookstore

Description:
COHASSET - Betsey Detwiler was in the shower one morning when she thought: "I've really got to think about what I'm going to do when I grow up." Betsey is 73 and she laughs when she tells the story. "Suddenly I stopped and said, 'Betsey! You are grown up! This is it. You can't choose another career now.' But actually, I can't think of anything I'd enjoy doing more." The anecdote is a clue to what makes this warm, outgoing, nonstop senior tick. She's a wonderful example of non-retirement - someone who ends one careerin their 50s and begins another, drawing on a childhood interest or lifelong passion. As a girl in East Bridgewater, she loved reading and at night often hid under the covers with a flashlight to finish her latest adventure. After she won a scholarship and graduated from Wellesley College in 1956, with a major in zoology, she worked in medical research, married, raised five sons, then returned to school and became a teacher. With a masters in language development and certification in learning disabilities, she taught in Hingham and at Thayer Academy in Braintree. At 55, she decided to retire from teaching and open an independent bookstore in Cohasset. "I wanted to make a beautiful space for people, full of other people who loved books - a community place," she says. Eighteen years later, Buttonwood Books and Toys is still going strong at a time independents are an endangered species. To survive, Detwiler has moved, expanded, and continually come up with creative ways to attract customers. She works with local libraries, churches and historical groups to hold events at which authors speak; some are organized around lunches or light suppers. "You have to do that - make connections in the community with other organizations," she says. "When we opened the store, it was easy to get people out to children's events, but now children have so many activities. "Believe me, it's hard - the large chains and online sellers sometimes charge less for a book than I pay to buy it wholesale," she says. She speaks warmly of her staff and credits much of her success to their loyal and skilled help. Ten years ago, Buttonwood Books and Toys moved to a new store in Shaw's Plaza on Route 3A. Detwiler worked with a designer to create comfortable sections with an easy flow from one area to another: toys, the reading corner, greeting cards (she picks every one),even a train on a track in the back. She had the ceiling lowered for a cozier atmosphere and chose lighting that was warm. Detwiler and her husband, Bob, 78, a stock broker, have lived for 42 years in a 362-year-old antique house (built in 1645) in Norwell Center where they raised heir five sons, now ages 38 to 48. Christopher, who is mentally challenged, lives with them and attends a workshop at Road to Responsibility in Pembroke. Bob Detwiler helped to launch and finance the nonprofit program. Two of her other sons, Andrew and Peter, live in Scituate; and Jonathan and Jefferson are in Norwell. She also has four daughters-in-law, whom she says "I love dearly and count among my best friends," and eight grandchildren she sees frequently. In the side yard of their two-acre property is a buttonwood tree, a sycamore, which shelters the house and is so large it takes three people to encircle it with their arms. It symbolizes the tree of life and knowledge, and is where the idea for the name of her store came from. The store opening in October 1989 came during an especially hectic period. There were down-to-the-wire renovations, wall cases and tables sitting in a barn; a son was getting married; an elderly aunt fell and broke her hip; another son had an emergency appendectomy right after he and his pregnant wife returned from Ghana; their dog bit a relative; the family boat sank; and the new baby arrived. "After all that family excitement, running a business seemed easy," Detwiler jokes. Despite the David against Goliath quality of a small independent bookstore, she loves the challenge. "It's been a good life - and family is first, isn't it? My family is really my joy."

Author:
patriotledger

Tags:
ghsvid, ghsnevid, patriot, ledger, quincy, good, age, buttonwood, bookstore, cohasset, betsey, detweiler,