G.J. Ford Bookshop on St. Simons Island, Georgia

St. Simons Island, Georgia, is known as "Atlanta's Beach." Situated some 300 miles from Georgia's capitol, St. Simons has a year-round population of 16,000 that burgeons during summer, Christmas, and spring break. It's also home of the 11-year-old G.J. Ford Bookshop -- a popular island destination for tourists and residents alike.

Mary Jane Reed purchased G.J. Ford eight years ago from its namesake, who owned it for only three years. Two years ago, Reed relocated the store to a 2,400-square-foot space with "more light, more space, more books, and more parking," she told BTW. "It's now in a spot more conducive to being noticed."

Reed, whose family had a vacation house on the island for 30 years, decided to become one of the locals when the bookstore was up for sale. G.J. Ford offers books, cards, CDs, gift items, and an old-fashioned atmosphere of warm gentility. The store also offers a St. Simons institution, 82-year-old May Korb, who works in the store three days a week, along with her portable oxygen tank and almost a half-century of bookselling knowledge.

Korb had owned The Shore Bird bookstore on the island for about 25 years -- she opened the store in the 1960s with $800 and a verbal agreement with the landlord, according to local lore. She was the first bookseller on St. Simon Island and an original member of SEBA (now the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance).

When G.J. Ford, known locally as Joe, opened his store, he hired her for the store "because of her wide net of acquaintances and interest in books," Reed said. "She knows everything about mysteries and can really sell them -- a wonderful lady."

The clientele at G.J. Ford is a mixture of tourists with a stable base of locals, according to Reed. "Many are retired artists and authors -- and they're big readers. We also get people from Sea Island, it's very exclusive, with only the hotel and residences. People there take the causeway over to buy from us -- and they prefer hardback books."

St. Simons is connected to the mainland by causeways, and by middle school, children must go off island for classes. There are three other bookstores on St. Simons -- two sell used books, and one, smaller than G.J. Ford, sells new books, but there are no chain stores on the island.

The store sends a newsletter out to over a thousand people, and customers return "because people like to come in here, we're isolated on a little island. We do lots of special orders and offer excellent service. Authors come -- we're having Dorothea Benton Frank and Mary Kay Andrews, and Civil War novelist Richard Croker," Reed explained.

In addition to Reed and Korb, G.J. Ford has a store manager, Jeannie Young, and seven part-time staff. "We have dynamic women who love to read and love to sell," Reed noted. "The very first table in the store when you arrive is our Book Sense display. We have a poster on an easel that explains all about Book Sense. That helps. People here want to support local businesses." -- Nomi Schwartz