When Cathy Anderson stepped away from a job in the health care field 22 years ago, she bought a business that thrust her into the heart of Bangor’s downtown and left her playing a key role in the upbringing of generations of youngsters.
Over the ensuing years, Anderson — the 64-year-old owner of The Briar Patch, a bookstore for children — watched as those young customers grew up, then began coming back with kids of their own. Now, as Anderson steps away from the store and embraces yet another stage of life, she says sharing her love for books with the community has resulted in unforeseen pleasures.
“I’ve been there long enough to have gotten to know kids as they’ve grown up, and now some of those kids are coming in with children of their own,” she said. “It has been a real privilege to share in their development.”
Her regular customers come from across the northern half of the state, including many from coastal areas, east of Bangor. In addition to seeking out the children’s classics they already know and love, they’re looking for guidance on new authors, illustrators and titles.
Many also come in looking for books to help children understand difficult life transitions such as death, divorce, relocation or illness. In warm weather, the store attracts customers from other countries who spend summers here, many of them looking for Maine-themed books to bring back home to friends and family, or for a greater overall choice than they can find in their own countries.
“There’s been a real explosion in children’s books,” Anderson said. “And a lot of it is really great.”
Under her watch, the store she purchased in 1995 has relocated from West Market Square to Central Street, relocated again , expanded and built up an inviting inventory of books, games, toys, crafts and other offerings designed to appeal to youngsters and the people who love them. Those efforts have paid off in not only in the bottom-line success of her business, but in the loyalty of her customer base.
In preparation for her recent retirement, she has helped to finance its sale to longtime staff member Gibran Graham and has agreed to make herself available as needed for consultation and advice.
“I feel very good about it,” she said in an interview last Thursday, one day after her official retirement. “I have full faith in Gibran’s ability to carry it on and make it better.”
But now, she said, she’s understanding at a deeper level the role The Briar Patch has played as a local destination in Bangor’s downtown shopping district and the number of people whose lives she has touched during her longtime presence here.
“Yesterday was hard. People were in and out all day with flowers and [hugs],” said Anderson, who was surprised by the steady stream of well-wishers who expressed appreciation for her work.
“I guess I didn’t quite realize the impact I’ve had,” she said.
An understanding of children and their ways
Originally from Topsfield, Massachusetts, Anderson graduated in 1974 from the University of Maine with a degree in special education. She also has a master’s degree in child development from Wheelock College in Boston. In 1982, after a period of working at a variety of short-term jobs in Maine and Massachusetts while looking for the right professional opportunity, she accepted a position at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor as a child life specialist.
“My job was to work with kids and their families to help them understand what was happening,” she explained. “And also to help them explore opportunities for normal development despite a serious illness or handicap.” She also helped family members, hospital staff and others understand a child’s viewpoint of illness and the hospital experience.
The work was challenging, creative and rewarding. Because her job brought her in contact with so many difficult family situations, Anderson also became licensed as a foster parent.
“I really wanted to make a difference in the lives of the people I was meeting,” she said. “I thought by parenting a child I could do that.”
Over time, Anderson, who was single, fostered many children. Most stayed with her for only a few weeks or months. But the first of those children, Kate, she later adopted and raised. Anderson now has a 4-year-old granddaughter named Belle, with whom she enjoys a warm and loving relationship.
In the mid-1990s, after 13 years, Anderson’s work at the hospital had run its course.
“I was getting burned out,” she admitted. “I liked working with the children, but I didn’t like the environment. I was ready to do something different.”
It was right about then that her longtime friend Jennifer Estabrook, who had opened The Briar Patch in 1987, was getting ready to sell. Anderson had recently inherited a bit of money from an uncle, enabling her to buy the small business and all its inventory.
“It was pretty thin ice for a number of years,” she said. “But fortunately I never got into any serious trouble. I had no background in business. What I knew was children’s books and what was appropriate for different ages.”
That knowledge proved a valuable business asset as customers came to recognize and seek out her guidance in choosing books and other materials for the young people in their lives.
“I learned as I went,” she said. “I hired good staff. And I didn’t make any really big, bad decisions.”
The Briar Patch has survived a number of challenges, including downtown Bangor’s economic ups and downs, the rise of electronic book technology, the presence near the Bangor Mall of retailers such as Borders — now defunct — and Books-A-Million and the pervasive influence of Amazon and other online retailers.
“The pendulum is swinging back,” Anderson said. “There’s more of a commitment now to shopping locally so the money stays in the community. And people want more personal shopping. They want unique things and a more local experience.”
Given that trend, the store’s longevity and Graham’s commitment to carrying on the customer service and community events The Briar Patch is known for, Anderson feels confident that the business is well positioned for success as she steps away now to enjoy retirement with her husband.
Changing priorities
About 10 years ago, Anderson met Bangor psychologist Stephen McKay, two years her senior, and they quickly became a twosome. They’ve been married four years.
“He stopped working five years ago. That’s what started me thinking about retiring,” Anderson said.
“I like my job and I like being part of the community. But on a nice summer day he’d go off to spend the day at Acadia [National Park] and I’d be coming to work. I started to feel like I was missing out on things.”
She’s finding it harder as she gets older to manage competing priorities — work, fun, home, friends, family, fitness.
“It used to be easier to maintain balance in my life,” she said. “Now, after I spend a day at work, I don’t feel like going out in the evening.” Something had to give.
“I’m 64 and there are a lot of things I’m interested in doing,” she said. “If I wait too much longer, I might not be able to do those things.”
Later this month, she and McKay are headed to Hawaii — not for days of lazing on the beach with fruity drinks but for hiking and biking in the volcanic mountain parks. Later in the spring, they’ll be trekking in France and Switzerland.
“I’ve had this pipe dream about hiking in the Swiss Alps ever since I read ‘Heidi,’” Anderson said. But she doesn’t want to carry a heavy backpack, so they’ll be taking day trips there alone and with friends.
It’s not all about travel, though Anderson said they’ll take as many trips as they can. She’s also looking forward to having more time to spend here in Maine with Kate and Belle, longer stays at the family camp on a nearby pond and more opportunities to connect with old and new friends. She recently set up a Facebook account and is quickly building a roster of online connections to help her stay in touch with the downtown community she is leaving.
Anderson said retirement promises a wonderful combination of relaxation and adventure. Remember how it felt to learn school was canceled because of snow?
“That’s what I want retirement to feel like, a snow day,” she said. “The option to structure your day however you want, to go back to sleep or sit around and read or if it’s a really beautiful day you can go and do something outside.”
And there’s the tottering stack of books and other reading material — two stacks, actually, mostly fiction — that she’ll delve into now at her whim and leisure. On priority status is “Journey to Munich”, the recently released Maisie Dobbs adventure by the British author Jacqueline Winspear. She recently finished a rare bit of nonfiction, “The Lost City of the Monkey God,” by Camden-based author Douglas Preston, an account of an anthropological expedition into the jungles of Honduras. She’s looking forward to reading more of Preston’s work.
“I always tell people that if you like to read, you’ll never be bored,” she said.
