The latest chapter of John Threlkeld’s life is coming to an end.
Mr Threlkeld is preparing to close the doors of Readers Book Exchange, the second-hand bookstore on Timaru’s Stafford St he has owned and operated since he left teaching in 1999.
He is only the third owner of the store; he bought it from George Morrison, who ran it for 17 years, and the original owner had it at least 15 years.
It was a significant change of pace for Mr Threlkeld, who came from a farming family in Hawarden, North Canterbury, and began his training at teachers’ college in Christchurch in 1971.
Like many new teachers, he moved around a number of schools before arriving in Timaru in 1980 to take up a role at Gleniti Primary School.
‘‘I got out of primary teaching at the end of 1999 — I came up against a principal and said, ‘bugger it, I’m out of this’.
‘‘I knew George, and he said if I wanted it, this is how much it will cost, and I thought, ‘that’s fine, I’ve just bought myself a job’.
‘‘I have loved it — I’m my own boss, not like when I was teaching. If there was a whole pile of work on my desk, I’d take it home, and did work at home.
‘‘Here, if I leave at 5pm and there are books on the counter, they can stay there until the next day.’’
After nearly 25 years of buying, selling and exchanging books, Mr Threlkeld can rattle off authors’ names at the drop of a hat, and has had to develop an instinct for what would sell and what would not.
Mills and Boon novels and ‘‘bodice rippers’’ remained popular — ‘they used to pay my rent’’ — as did westerns and war books, and the shop also boasted a cooking section, comics, and, of course, the ‘‘adult’’ section.
Despite a plethora of free adult content now on line, there was still a market for DVDs and magazines, all either concealed behind ‘‘modesty boards’’, or in the R18 room at the rear.
‘‘It’s an integral part of the business — you make good money from the R18 stuff.’’
His is the last of many book exchanges that have already closed their doors — there was another one in Timaru, and both Oamaru and Ashburton used to have one too.
The time was right, he felt, to shut up shop.
‘‘I’ve just turned 70, the health isn’t quite what it used to be. I just thought, ‘gosh, let’s have a break’.’’
Running a store was a tie, although Mr Threlkeld had made it as pleasant as possible.
‘‘I work gentlemen’s hours — 10am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, 1pm to 5pm on Friday and 10am to 12pm on Saturday. It gets me out of bed in the morning.
‘‘I can remember going to the doctor with my father after he moved off the farm to Christchurch, and the doctor said to him, ‘you need to get out of bed like you have got a train to catch in the morning’. So dad used to annoy the neighbour on one side, he’d have his sheets washed and hanging up on the line before she’d even got out of bed.’’
Having now planned to finish up and have the shop emptied by the end of March, Mr Threlkeld said he had some mixed emotions.
‘‘Both sadness and feeling it’s the right time. A fair chunk of my life was involved with teaching, this is just another chapter.
‘‘It’s now finished, and we will move on.’’
