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!"erne Co!nty $istorical %ociety website:
http://luzernehistory.org
$istoric ehman &wp. b!siness on the mar'et
Elizabeth Skrapits
Published: Augu
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LOS A. !"## / FO" $%E &$'E(S) *O&E &harlene and +en &ook ha,e o-ned &ook)s Store
in Leh.an $o-nship /or 01 years. $he 2ouple are selling the store3 the /irst in Leh.an $o-nship and
one o/ the oldest operating businesses in the region.

LOS A. !"## / FO" $%E &$'E(S) *O&E
.age !allery /or
.age !allery /or
LE%#A( $4P. 5 At +en and &harlene &ook)s old6/ashioned general store3 they sell e,erything /ro.
soup to nuts 5 and bolts.
Also 2a.ping lanterns3 outdoor 2lothing3 lottery ti2kets3 an assort.ent o/ baking needs3 ho.e.ade
hoagies3 and outside3 shel,es o/ -ater.elons and other /resh produ2e. 7ou na.e it3 they probably ha,e
it.
89sually people -ill say3 :i/ they don)t ha,e it3 -e don)t need it3); &harlene &ook said.
&ook)s Store in Leh.an &enter3 at the interse2tion o/ #ountain *ie- <ri,e3 #arket Street and state
"oute 11=3 -as Leh.an $o-nship)s /irst store and the last o/ the old6ti.e 2o..er2ial enterprises still
standing. n /a2t3 sin2e it has been a general store sin2e the 1=0>s3 it)s one o/ the oldest 5 i/ not the
oldest 5 2ontinuously operating businesses in the region.
?ut the store is poised to 2hange hands /or the 1>th ti.e in its e@isten2e. $he &ooks3 -ho -ill ha,e
o-ned it /or 01 years 2o.e (o,e.ber3 put it up /or sale about t-o -eeks ago.
84e)ll .iss it3 but it)s Aust ti.e to spend ti.e -ith the /a.ily3; &harlene &ook said.
$he &ooks ha,e t-o daughters3 $ra2ey $ho.pson and Benni/er Pa2ze-ski3 and /our grand2hildren3 t-o
boys and t-o girls. +en &ook ad.its they spoil the grand2hildren 5 8but it)s /un.;
84e .issed ti.e -ith the girls gro-ing up. (o- -e ha,e our grand2hildren3; &harlene &ook said.

:<o-nto-n) Leh.an
Leh.an $o-nship -as 2reated in 1=CD /ro. part o/ <allas $o-nship and part o/ -hat is no- Lake
$o-nship3 and -as na.ed a/ter a state la-.aker o/ the ti.e3 <r. 4illia. Leh.an o/ Philadelphia.
ts /irst settlers -ere (ehe.iah de and Bere.iah ?ro-n.
Leh.an &enter3 lo2ated on #arket Street in the area o/ -hat is no- state "oute 11= 5 -hi2h -as
2onstru2ted in the 1DE>s 5 -as the to-nship)s 2o..er2ial distri2t.
%enry &. ?radsby -rote in his 1=DF 8%istory o/ Luzerne &ounty3 Pennsyl,ania; that Leh.an &enter
had t-o general stores3 one hard-are store3 one hotel and t-o bla2ks.iths.
8$he /irst store -as opened about 1=0=3 by <aniel 9rGuhart and Ed-ard Shott3 near -here the Leh.an
&enter s2hool6house no- stands3; ?radsby -rote in a passage taken /ro. the 1==> 8%istory o/
Luzerne3 La2ka-anna and 4yo.ing &ounties.;
$he latter book goes on to state: 8$hey sold to ?ogardus H Fisher3 -ho sold to Fli2k H Flannigan. #r.
Fli2k sold his interest to Flannigan3 -ho kept the store in his o-n na.e /or a long ti.e and then sold to
".A. 4hite.an3 -ho no- 2arries on the business on the 2orner at Leh.an &enter 5 no- the only
store in Leh.an.;
?ut not /or long. n the 1==>s3 $ho.as (. #aAor started a store a2ross the street3 a22ording to a brie/
history o/ Leh.an &enter -ritten by to-nship historian Budy <a-e. $he #aAor /a.ily li,ed on the
se2ond /loor and sold /ar. eGuip.ent and .a2hinery on the /irst /loor. $hey also had a huge s2ale to
-eigh /ar.ers) 2rops and -agons to take the produ2e to the 2ity3 she said.
<a-e said tra//i2 /ro. %unts,ille3 4ilkes6?arre3 +ingston and the rest o/ the 4est Side 2a.e /ro.
%illside "oad to get to %ar,eys Lake3 passing through Leh.an $o-nship ,ia the Outlet "oad.
$his3 she states3 -as good /or business3 parti2ularly Leh.an $o-nship)s ta,ern. $o the right o/ -hat is
no- &ook)s Store -as the Leh.an %ouse3 also 2alled the !leason %ouse or !leason)s %otel3 o-ned by
Fred !leason. t -as destroyed by /ire in the 1DC>s and rebuilt. t -as a /reGuent stopping point /or
people tra,eling to %ar,eys Lake3 and <a-e notes that it -as kno-n /or its 2hi2ken dinners on
Sundays.
Other businesses in2luded ?enAa.in (ulton)s but2her shop3 !eorge Elston)s bla2ks.ith shop and
"i2hard <ingle)s 2on/e2tionery3 <a-e says.
E@2ept /or &ook)s3 none are around today as 2o..er2ial enterprises3 although so.e o/ the old
buildings -ere 2on,erted to pri,ate residen2es. Others -ere torn do-n to .ake -ay /or state "oute
11=.

%ope it -ill stay a store
As /or &ook)s3 4illia. ". (eely o/ deto-n took the store o,er /ro. 4hite.an in the 1=D>s. (eely
retired in 1DFE3 but his /a.ily operated the store until his death in February 1DEC at age ==. %is son6in6
la- 4illia. Elston inherited the store3 but he died young and the store -as sold to !eorge and Ethel
Stolari2k3 the &ooks said.
$he Stolari2ks later sold the store to "odney and &arole S2h.ig3 /ro. -ho. the &ooks bought it in
1DIF.
A 2entury and a hal/ ago3 the store -as one o/ the largest buildings in Leh.an $o-nship3 -ith a large
hall 2ontaining a raised plat/or. upstairsJ 2o..unity e,ents like plays and dan2es -ere held there3
<a-e said.
Sin2e its 2onstru2tion3 the store has undergone a /e- 2hanges and reno,ations3 but still .aintains a lot
o/ 2hara2ter. So.e o/ the shel,es are the original -ooden built6insJ others ha,e been repla2ed at so.e
point in the .id6C>th 2entury. $here)s a hole in the 2eiling /or the pipe /ro. a long6gone potbelly sto,e.
Ele2tri2 re/rigerators long ago eli.inated the need to keep perishables on i2e.
&harlene &ook said she and +en /ound one other store like theirs3 in 4est *irginia3 -ith the sa.e kind
o/ ladder on a tra2k /or getting gro2eries /ro. /loor6to62eiling shel,es. K$he &ooks use the tra2k as a
display /or lottery ti2kets.L
And then there)s the /un o/ dressing up the -hole store /or %allo-een3 &harlene &ook)s /a,orite
holiday. She says -ist/ully that she)s not sure -hat she)ll do -ith all the de2orations 5 .aybe lea,e
the. /or the ne@t o-ner.
$he business isn)t al-ays easy. $he ad,ent o/ 2on,enien2e stores 8kind o/ slo-ed us do-n a little bit3
but -e still ha,e our dedi2ated 2usto.ers3; &harlene &ook said.
t)s one o/ the reasons the &ooks hope the building re.ains a store.
8People are Aust so ni2e. $hey)re so kind3; &harlene &ook said. 8$hat)s -hat -e)ll .iss.;
+en &ook agreed 5 DD.D per2ent o/ the 2usto.ers are ,ery ni2e3 he said.
8t)s unbelie,able ho- a s.all 2o..unity sti2ks together3; he said.