Reaching the Stratosphere: Titcomb's 40th Anniversary Celebration

Titcomb's Bookshop is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 40 different ways throughout this summer and fall. From July 1 to November 1, the bookstore is hosting a series of author events featuring Richard Russo, Wally Lamb, Mary Oliver, Jeannette Walls, and others. Also slated are special programs for children, a shop local event, and a cross-promotion with a local yarn shop featuring author and knitter Ann Hood.

"We are very, very grateful to the publishers and authors who have supported this celebration and made it incredibly exciting for the community and for us," said Vicky Uminowicz, Titcomb's manager and daughter of store founders Ralph and Nancy Titcomb. "I can't believe we get to meet these wonderful authors!"

Nancy Ockers, another Titcomb daughter, said, "Opening a bookstore is difficult. Opening a bookstore next to your house with your eight children under age 14 -- that's borderline crazy!" But, she added, "It has been such fun to celebrate the 40 years since my parents made that leap and opened Titcomb's Bookshop. Planning 40 events ended up being a very concrete reminder of just how big a number 40 is. We are so grateful to our community for their support over the years and we're thrilled that such an exceptional group of authors is coming here to help us thank them."

Authors pose for a picture with Titcomb's trademark statue.

Located on Cape Cod, in East Sandwich, Massachusetts, Titcomb's got its start when Ralph and Nancy Titcomb bought a house in Connecticut and found caches of valuable books and documents throughout their home and barn. An impromptu business began when they sold their finds, then launched a mail-order business, and had their eight children collate and compile a catalog. The Titcombs founded the bookstore in 1969, when they moved to East Sandwich. Titcomb's Book Shop still trades in antiquarian books, but it is now also a general bookstore, stocking new fiction and nonfiction, games, puzzles, and cards.

Mid-Cape just off historic Route 6A, the bookstore is attached to the family's 1790 Cape Cod-style house. The current barn-style, three-story building that houses Titcomb's Bookshop was built in 1989 by two of the Titcomb sons (Paul and Ted). In 1991, the Titcombs' eldest daughter, Vicky Uminowicz, joined the family business and began expanding the store's inventory of new books.

Other events on the 40th anniversary calendar include a Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire Party, story time with a Labrador retriever, and a Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4 (Jeff Kinney, Amulet) book release party. On Sunday, August 2, Titcomb's will have birthday cake and ice cream with 40 different toppings. --Karen Schechner