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Fairview Family Opens Region’s Only Bookstore

Fairview Family Opens Region’s Only Bookstore
Page TurnersOwner Betty Cherrey (left) and Savannah Manuel pose on the front steps of the region’s newest bookstore, Page Turners, July 28 in Fairview. (Photo by James Walling)
Fairview Family Opens Region’s Only Bookstore
Page TurnersOwner Betty Cherrey (left) and Savannah Manuel pose on the front steps of the region’s newest bookstore, Page Turners, July 28 in Fairview. (Photo by James Walling)

Until Betty Cherrey and Sarah Manuel opened Page Turners in a small Fairview home last month, the closest Montana bookstores were located in Billings and Havre. That’s a long way to go to find a book. There are currently no other bookstores in Richland, Roosevelt or Valley counties.

Cherrey and Manuel offer thousands of titles in their tight but elegantly organized shop, including fiction and nonfiction, children’s literature and poetry, as well as bookmarks, reading glasses, journals and other essentials.

Page Turners held a soft opening in May and a grand opening at the end of June. At present, the store is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Cherrey originally moved to the area in 2000. Along with her husband, she also owns Cherrey’s Red Top Service around the corner on Ellery Avenue. Manuel moved to Fairview in 2008 and works at BOSS Office and Computer Products in Sidney.

Regarding inventory, a notice to customers reads, “The shelves of this bookstore hold a wide array of titles containing ideas as diverse as the world in which we live. We believe that it is in the best interest of our community and our democratic society for ideas of all kinds to interested individuals, regardless of what our tastes may be. In that spirit, we believe that censorship in any form — whether by individuals, special interest groups or government — damages our society.”

Cherrey said she has been surprised to find that titles on the classics shelf, especially books by Ernest Hemingway, have been among her best sellers.

Related area book events include the History Book Club hosted on the third Thursday of each month at Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center at 7 p.m. Central Time. The book coming up for discussion at the August 18 meeting is To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, the Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876 by Bret Baler and Catherine Whitney. Cherrey is also pushing “Blind Date with a Book,” featuring deals including drink mixes, stickers and fuzzy socks for a small charge along with the purchase of a book.

Page Turners is located at 214 S. Central Ave., Fairview. Call 406-742-5700 for more information or visit the shop’s Facebook page.

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