When people hear about an independent book store in a small town, they expect to read that it is closing. Corning, however, recently welcomed the opening of The Honeyed Page (her kids named it) at 715 Benton St. The owner, Kennedy DeBord, did her homework. With the help of Main Street Corning, she did an online survey and found that Corning very much wanted a bookstore with new and used books across a spectrum of tastes. Add in a selection of teas, candles and comfortable chairs and the bookstore was born.
Kennedy grew up in Grant City, MO dreaming of becoming a librarian and haunting the library there. As life would have it, she ended up working for Bunn in Creston, met her husband who works for the Municipal Water Works and moving to Creston where she continued to hang around the book store and library. She moved on to a job with State Farm and had 2 boys, aged 10 and 6, and a girl aged 3. Her husband used to race at the Adams County Speedway and they both liked the ambiance of the old buildings on Davis Avenue. So when the bookstore in Creston came up for sale, she briefly toyed with buying it, but felt that a clean start in Corning was a better idea.
The couple found an affordable home near the schools and moved to Corning in March of this year. They love that their kids can roam the town safely with minimal supervision. Other big factors in their decision to move were the friendliness of everyone they met, the reputation of the school system for excellent education and the warmth and support of the other businesses in town. The bookstore has been enthusiastically received. A Book Club that will meet at 6:30 PM September 11 currently has 20 women reading the assignment. A second book and meeting time are already scheduled.
The Honeyed Page is open Monday through Friday 1-7 and Saturday 9-2. Check it out.
