Whistlestop Bookshop
Whistlestop Bookshop - About Us
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Many customers like to know about the company and people behind the products they buy. Here we will tell you a little about ourselves and our company.

Whistlestop Bookshop's Philosophy

The objective of our business is to put the right books in the hands of the right people.  In other words, if you want a specific book, we either have it or can order it for you.  If you are a little unsure on specifics or want recommendations, we do our best from our experience. We believe that our bookstore provides, in the words of Carlisle's own Marianne Moore, "a place for the genuine."

Our Employees

As we mention in Whistlestop Bookshop Staff Picks , it took us twenty years to see the need of a staff, but since taking the plunge, we have been extraordinarily fortunate.  As our first employee, Abby Reed, once said, "Once a Whistlestopper, always a Whistlestopper," so even though a few have had to leave the area for other pursuits, they know they are always welcomed back as family.
  • Abby Reed returned from her teaching stint in Tanzania in the autumn of 2006 and completed her first semester at Middlebury College.  The summer of 2007 found her in Guatemala, among other places. She is now a junior at Middlebury.  Abby was the recipient of the 2005-2006 Employee of the Year.
  • Ellie Strand is finishing her second and final year at Harvard Divinity School for a masters in comparative religion.  She has discovered an affinity for Arabic.  She continues her competitive pursuit of soccer. 
  • Lauren Henson is now a junior at Oberlin College, where she is a biology major.  The summer of 2008 will find her working in her field of study in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
  • Kara Eatman completed her junior year at Carlisle High School while working at Whistlestop.  The summer of 2007 saw her in France, among other places.  She is now living with her family near Tampa, Florida, her father's new military posting.  She is about to graduate from Riverview High School.  She is headed to University of California at Irvine in the fall.  She was the recipient of the 2006-2007 Employee of the Year award. 
  • Claire Wilson graduated from Carlisle High School after working at Whistlestop.  She is interested in the arts and  in urban exploration.  Along with her musical skills, she is a very skilled photographer.  During the summer of 2007 she roamed Italy and worked in Montana, among other places.  She is now a sophomore at Dickinson College here in Carlisle.
  • Katherine Schlusser is a student at Trinity High School.
  • Brooke Marlin is a junior at Dickinson College, where she is a double major in sociology and women's studies.  She is from Bayside, New York.  She learned about Whistlestop Bookshop when she became friends with Abby Reed in Tanzania. The store proudly carries her excellent handmade tote bags.
  • Grace Moore is a junior at Dickinson College, where she is an anthropology major.  She is from Columbia, South Carolina.  She is the owner and artisan of Little Wren Designs, a design and creation business of handmade books, bags, and jewelry.  Whistlestop carries a fine representation of her work.
  • Laura Cleveland, after a brief and brilliant stint at Whistlestop, is on a walkabout tour of the West coast and favoring Portland, Oregon as her homebase.  She hails from the Sierra Nevada mountains of California.
  • Elise Bricker is a junior at Wilson College in Chambersburg, where she is a double major in history and classics.  She is from Shippensburg, also "down the valley," and is much-traveled in Europe.

 

The History of Whistlestop

     Whistlestop Bookshop opened in Gettysburg in August 1985 at 11 West Railroad St, right across from the Lincoln Diner.  A quick two-and-a-half years later, in January 1988, we opened a second store in Carlisle at 152 West High Street, next door to Back Door Cafe and the Bosler Memorial Library. 

     Eventually, both stores moved to larger quarters.  Whistlestop Gettysburg moved to 104 Carlisle Street.  We closed it at the end of July 2004, after 19 years.  Whistlestop Carlisle moved to 129 West High Street, when we bought the building in 1998.  On August 2nd of that year, in one day, our friends and customers helped us move across the street and a little east of our first location to our current quarters.  They forever earned their fame as "the Whistlestop Movers," as the now-rare bandannas proclaimed.
 
     Whistlestop is now in its permanent home, expanding and adding new lines of books, cards, music, and what we call "book-related product" on a regular basis.

Our Shop

Whistlestop Bookshop
whistlestop2.jpg
129 West High Street, Carlisle PA

info@whistlestoppers.com

Whistlestop Bookshop * 129 West High Street * Carlisle Pennsylvania 17013-2925 USA  717.243.4744