Our home was built in 1866 by Jonathan B. Miller, a Confederate Officer who served in the 58th
North Carolina Infantry. He returned to Watauga County after being paroled by the Union. He
authored the book The Watauga Boys in the Great Civil War. The house, although
renovated, still retains most of the original interior with pine planking on walls floors and
ceilings. It has a tin roof which affords a real country flavor - and pleasant sound when it's
raining!
We have renovated the hay loft in the barn and have a comfortable little shop where we run our
business. As part of the renovations, we installed heating/air conditioning, phone linesand
computers. We replaced the original hay loft door with an insulated steel and glass door and
added a large deck and an access ramp to allow visitors to come into the store from the driveway.
Incoming book shipments are received and orders packed and shipped from an area beneath
the store. We ship most books via Priority Mail the next day and have our own postage meter
with USPS daily pickup
We have a nice display area in our
renovated barn, but not as
much room as we could use since we keep expanding our book offerings - we now have displays
for Civil
War, Revolutionary War, World War One, World War II, Korea and Vietnam books. We special
order many other general military, genealogy and Indian War titles as we need them for
customers.
We have a huge in-stock selection of World War II titles - many Specialty Publishers such as
Schiffer, Bender, Fedorowicz, U.S. Naval Institute, Pen & Sword, Casemate and Battery Press
We have a lighted antique Oak and Glass Display Case (rescued from an old cigar shop) that
allows us to display some of our special books.
We have a whole section of World War II Aviation Books, DVDs and Videos - Many of our
WWII books are Signed by the Pilots of WWII - and some by Medal of Honor Winners!
We have a World War I section that includes original battlefield artifacts including helmets,
artillery shells and hand-grenades that we have collected at battlefields in France and Germany.
Many folks enjoy visiting the shop just to look at the collectibes that are on display!
We have samples of Cannon Sets, Swords, Pistols, Caps and other reproduction and gift items
that are shipped direct to our customers from Collector's Armoury.
My wife Suzanne has helped me
with this business for almost 20 years now and she packs almost all the orders. She carefully
packs every order to be sure books arrive undamaged - - and we lots of great Customer
Comments on our web page about her packing!. Suzanne and I like to travel and usually Fly
Space "A" using military flights. We
have visited many of Europe's castles and battlefields in Normandy, Dieppe,
Waterloo, Arnhem, Verdun, the Somme and other locations. We were lucky enough to catch
a flight on Air Force Two from Germany to Andrews AFB - - pretty amazing trip with great
food and lots of leg room! Here is Suzanne in Belgium standing next to a Sherman Tank outside
a military museum.
Suzanne now has a Blog Page that you can visit Visit Suzanne's Blog
When I started this business, my wife Suzanne, bought me a kitten named
Matilda (after the song Waltzing Matilda) - she has since gone to kitty heaven. Matilda always
liked being in the book barn and welcoming visitors - - she always rubbed her face on any books
that are stacked on the floor.
In Winter of 2003, we rescued Sherman (the Tank) from the Humane Society. He was really
small and Matilda was quite able to handle his antics - - - he is now almost 2 years old in this
photo and would pounce on Matilda whenever he had the chance - - - usually preferring a frontal
assault! He is still as sweet as he was when he first came home, but he sure has grown. He likes
visitors - and treats -
Sherman spends a lot of time running around the yard chasing butterflies, crickets and
creepy-crawley things! Sometimes he just curls up and sleeps.
Sherman on the patio table helping Suzanne plan our next trip to France. He's met our house
sitter, but hasn't quite figured out that he won't be flying with us on the C17!
Sherman's favorite pasttime is patiently waiting for Matilda to drop her guard so he can
jump on her back! He misses her company, but has not been willing for us to adopt a new friend
Trick or Treat! Sherman looking for the Halloween Candy!
Sherman has enjoyed this Christmas Season - He's Three Years Old in this photo and was up late
partying with Santa on Christmas Eve - - he even baked some catnip cookies for Santa!
Enter the Bad Kitty! This guy has been around out place for about as long as we have been here -
but he has always kept his distance and never came close to us - except to fight with Matilda or
Sherman. However, last winter Suzanne started feeding and talking to him - - and he has now
adopted us (much to Sherman's dislike) - - he is laying next to me on the floor of the book shop
as I write this. He is still quite the wild cat - stays outside at night, but happy to come into the
house to eat and harass Sherman. He jumps in my lap in the morning when I sit on the patio with
my coffee.
Sherman is getting ready for the
Great Pumpkin to visit! He is ready to go trick or treating - - just not with the Bad Kitty!
We currently have a large selection
of Regimental Histories and Collectible book titles in antique Mahogany Bookcases in our house,
since there is just not enought room in the book barn. When we extend an offer to "come visit" -
we mean just that. You are welcome to sit outside under the trees or relax on the New Stone
Patio - - We are a home-based business in every sense of the word!
We still have a small red book trailer parked in front of the
shop that we have used for shows. In the past, we have done shows in Gettysburg, Vicksburg,
Fredericksburg, Harpers Ferry and other locations, however, we are no longer doing shows, since
they are a lot of work and not quite the venues they were when we first started selling Civil War
Books.
Since I started doing this full-time, I have managed to grow the
business and actually make enough income for us to live comfortably. In an era when most
independent booksellers have vanished, I have been fortunate enough to combine the Internet and
old fashioned customer service to stay ahead of the pack. I work pretty hard and sometimes need
to have a little fun - - The Audi TT helps a lot! - - this would never have happened without our
customers!
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