McHuston Booksellers

Rare, Collectible, & Otherwise

Tag: books (Page 21 of 128)

Congratulations to AVB!

September 20, 2015 /

The barriers are down. The lights are on and the signs are up as a notice that doorkeepers at AVB Bank – (formerly known as Arkansas Valley Bank) in the Rose District, are throwing open the new building.

Kinda tricky, since the signs went up before the end of business on Friday afternoon, sending a few folks (no names mentioned here) down the block to the new building ahead of schedule.

avb1

It’s a beautiful addition to the area, done in an architectural style that makes the new construction right at home among the turn-of-the-century buildings that are the heart of the Rose District. The landscaping sets the bank off nicely, along with the new bronze monument on the north edge of the site.

AVB is at the corner of Main and El Paso and is worth a look the next time you are passing through the District.

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Progress is being made on their neighbor’s construction, as well. The 1st National Bank building has some of the employees in a remodeled section, while others are still in temporary quarters until their spaces are finished.

It’s all a surprise to people who haven’t been around for a time. More than one visitor on Saturday mentioned what a pleasing change the downtown has undergone in the past few years. I’ll be happy when the last of the construction fences comes down, but it is still exciting that new things are popping up regularly.

A spokesman for Andolini’s called during the week to mention that the restaurant will be opening in the next week or so, bringing another dining opportunity to the Rose. Andolini’s is already known in the Tulsa market and their food truck has already been seen handing out pizza slices on BA’s Main Street.

Just a few doors down from the bookstore there are plans for the location that formerly housed the Back Creek Deli. There seems to be a halt to the interior renovation currently, but a number of remodels on Main have gone through delays before the grand re-opening.

Across the street, another remodel is in the offing. They’ve taped up some signs on the glass at the former Bruhouse bar and grille to let us know that the spaces will soon be serving breakfast and brunch at the corner building, and BBQ next door. The sooner the better, as far as I’m concerned. Empty buildings on Main Street serve no one’s best interest.

In the meantime, we’ll keep a chair ready for you at lunch time! We’ll be serving up something tasty, so…

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
122 South Main St. Broken Arrow OK!

A Handshake Deal etched in Stone.

September 7, 2015 /

There are some new Riders in the District. They’ll be sticking around for a time, so you’ll have an opportunity to see them on horseback, striking up a handshake deal over the fence rails.

It’s a big bronze, fashioned by sculptor Bradford J. Williams, who comes to Western art naturally, having been raised in Colorado amidst cattle drives and country fairs – living the cowboy life. The large-scale monument sits on the north end of the new building being constructed by Arkansas Valley Bank, or AVB as their signs identify them these days.

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I’m fond of the idea of the handshake deal, and the bronze makes me think of my dealings with the local bank in McAlester when I was a young man. The new car bug had bitten and I found a little one-owner that I just had to have. My enthusiasm for it may have just caught the banker off-guard or maybe it was just the nature of small-town dealings. He didn’t ask for any collateral or down payment. “I know your Daddy,” he said, and told me to go ahead and get the car. He’d have the paperwork drawn up as quick as he could.

Just a signature was all he required. My promise that I would repay the loan.

Time was, a man’s word was his bond – something that could be trusted. That’s the spirit of the handshaking monument. It’s called “Binding Contract,” and once upon a time a handshake was better than a signature on a piece of paper. A contract might be misfiled or lost, but you can’t dispute shaking on a deal.

aBankStatue1

Our own Rose District sculptor David Nunneley has worked with Mr. Williams in the past, and aided in the recent installation of the monument. Both artists work in bronze and have statues in public spaces all across the country.

Williams – a self-taught artist – describes his western sculptures as “symbols of our need to believe that another world exists beyond that of our experience – a world that is richer and truer, a world where hard work, trust, decency and strength without excuse aren’t just rumors, but fact.”

It’s a fact that the bank’s new building is progressing nicely, and the street repair on the south edge of the property has been completed, allowing the road to be reopened for traffic. For now, you’ll have to peer through the chain-link construction fence to have a gander at the cowboys, but they’ll be out of the gate soon enough.

We’ll be open tomorrow and firing up the lunchtime chuck wagon, so…

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main St. Broken Arrow OK!

The Patient is out of surgery.

September 3, 2015 /

In our last episode, the little Bible book was on life support, hoping for another chance on the bookshelf over the dustbin alternative.

Good news.

Front and back covers have been reattached and a replacement piece of cover art has given the book a more presentable look. I’m hoping that the book’s owner won’t be too startled by the changes.

MVC-062F

There were a few specifications that made the project slightly out of the ordinary book rebind. She wanted to keep the original feel of her father’s childhood book but wanted it sturdy enough to take off the shelf and read.

It’s solid enough to easily last another half-century. There’s a new covering at the spine that holds the boards for the front and back covers. That’s topped with a nice piece of thin leather with raised straps. The cloth covering is one that I had purchased to redo a Civil War era book – the lady at the fabric shop had a piece of material that was based on fashions of the mid-nineteenth century.

One of my rules-of-thumb about old books is that they should be in a condition that allows them to be displayed or shown off to visitors. If your old book is shedding pieces of paper like cat-hair, you’re less inclined to leave it out on the coffee table. This one had that problem, but – no more.

MVC-063F

Those Old World bookbinders have my admiration. I’m a graduate of the bookbinding school of hard knocks. Nothing too fancy.

But this little book will probably still be serving its purpose long after I’ve checked out of the library.

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