Wee Scot Book Shoppe

Fortunate to have found a gorgeous bookshop as I was passing through Waynesboro, PA today with my son and his girlfriend.

The Wee Scot Book Shoppe is owned and operated by retired teacher, Helen Wintle. I say retired lightly because Helen still teaches as a substitute, and has taken on the ambitious work of running a bookstore in her ‘retirement.’

That last sentence alone is enough for me to admire Ms. Wintle, as I can picture myself spending my retirement pursuing similar goals. But that is just one thing that I am thinking about as I reflect on this day. I am also reminiscing about the adorable Scottish Terrier, Lady MacBeth, that greeted me as I entered the store and the beautiful building that provides a home to the books Helen offers in her lovely space.

Lady MacBeth, affectionately referred to as Mac, is a sweet and charming lass, that loves to be pet and makes her way gracefully through the large bookstore and it’s many rooms to keep visitors company as they search for good books. The building is beautiful, and according to it’s owner, is occupied by a friendly ghost, known as the professor.

Helen and I talked briefly about the ghost, her career as a teacher, her past four years as a bookseller, and about the supportive Waynesboro, PA community that she has called home for more than 20 years.

I thoroughly enjoyed our time together and am looking forward to a return trip. We are hoping to arrange a second conversation, likely this summer, when she is not teaching, and when I can bring Ted along to enjoy Helen’s shoppe and to talk more about good book hunting, the supportive town of Waynesboro, and of course, Lady MacBeth.

Until then, if you are in the Waynesboro area, I hope you will stop in to visit Helen and her sweet companion, Mac on a good book hunting trip of your own! If you have already visited this shoppe, or do so in the near future, we would love to hear about it at twosides2thestory@yahoo.com