Day Trips
Pratt's Book Store has a great selection you might not expect from a small-town bookstore
By Gerald E. McLeod, Fri., May 28, 2004
Pratt's Books in Graham symbolizes the evolution of small-town bookstores. First opened nearly 28 years ago by Rozella Pratt, the small store wedged between the old theatre and an insurance office has gained new life as a dealer of rare, collectible, and out-of-print books.
"We probably sell more books to the European continent than we do in Graham," says David Pratt, Rozella's third son and operator of the store along with his wife, Gayle. Although the store attracts local readers with a current selection of bestsellers and university press offerings, book buyers seek them out for their selection of collectible and hard-to-find titles.
Rozella embarked on a second career as a bookseller after raising three children. "I think it was an outlet for her interests," he says of his 84-year-old mother, who still maintains an interest in the store. David and Gayle took over operation of the store in 2002.
"David is the book buyer," Gayle says. With a large personal library, he is part collector and part book scout for the store. His interest in books began when his mother gave him a signed first-edition of a Larry McMurtry novel.
"For me it's the opportunity to buy a group of books for that one book that I want for my collection and know what I'm going to do with the rest of the books," David says. The store specializes in out-of-print children's books and Christian, leather-bound, ranching, and Western Americana literature. The Texana section is commendable for its breadth and quality.
"We tried to create something that people wouldn't expect to find in a small town," Gayle says. Like McMurtry's bookstores in nearby Archer City, Pratt's attracts book buyers from all over the state and as far away as Canada.
Along with catering to the discriminating book buyer, the store also provides local authors with an opportunity to reach new audiences. "We try to contribute to the success of local and regional writers," Gayle says. A former fundraiser for nonprofit organizations, she has assembled events with several authors. Elmer Kelton's publisher told the Pratts that a booksigning held at their store had the second largest one-day sales of any event he had attended. Not bad for a town with a population of 8,700.
Gayle arranged for Graham to host the first booksigning for Philip Parisi's new book on murals in Texas post offices. "We were the squeaky wheel," Gayle says with a laugh. Not only did she have the author – who now lives in Utah – signing copies of the book under the post office mural (now a museum), but she also had 15 members of the artist's family present at the event.
Despite drawing heavily from Dallas, Fort Worth, and Oklahoma City, a large portion of the store's business comes from Internet sales through listing services. "We'd like to evolve into a Web store," David says, "but that has its drawbacks."
"If that happened," Gayle interjected, "we would become less than a mom-and-pop store." They both agreed that the charm of the store is a major attraction. The little shop on the south side of the courthouse square still looks like someone's mother owns it. Bookshelves reach to the ceiling against the walls of the narrow shop, with a shorter shelf of books down the center of the store. The only thing missing is a bookstore cat.
On the surface, things aren't much different than when Rozella Pratt came to work every day at the store, but looks can be deceiving. "The store had to change for several reasons," says David, who makes his living modernizing distressed companies. His mother wasn't interested in the Internet, he says, but Gayle has had to learn to use the Web to keep the store open.
"Gayle likes meeting all the different people at the store," David says. "But for me, it's coming across a really hard-to-find book and getting it at a reasonable price. That's the exciting part."
Pratt's Books, open since 1976, is at 502 Oak St. in Graham. The store does not have a Web site, but they can be reached Tuesday through Saturday at 940/549-5341.
676th in a series. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of Day Trips 101-200, is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.
