FAIRHOPE, Alabama—Karin Wilson, third-generation owner of Page & Palette bookstore, spoke this month at the Fairhope Museum of History about her love of books and authors, as well as the challenges facing independent bookstores, including her own—a downtown landmark and destination point for fans of the written word for nearly half a century.

She and husband Kiefer Wilson purchased the store in 1997 from her grandmother Betty Joe Wolff, a legend in town for whom the writing-retreat cottage at the Fairhope Center for Writing Arts is named. Wilson is 45this year, she said—the same age as P&P.

She spoke with pride about her grandmother and their different styles of operating the store. She also expressed admiration and fondness for her sister, Kelley Wolff Lyons, who with husband Mike, own Lyons Share Custom Frames and Gallery next door. The identical twin sisters are frequently mistaken for one another, she said, which has made for some humorous confusion.

“Fairhope is home to dozens of creative souls whose work was displayed and promoted by Bob and Betty Joe Wolff and now by Karin and Kiefer Wilson,” local writer C. Terry Cline Jr. wrote about the store’s 40^th anniversary. “Today forty years after the doors opened at Page & Palette, the grandchildren continue the task in this remarkable independent bookstore. There is no greater bookstore and no finer family tradition than Page & Palette and the family that has made it the fabulous place it has become to readers and writers.”

A more recent addition to the bookstore layout—the adjacent Latte Da Coffee Shop—has celebrated a 10-year anniversary of its own and become a popular gathering spot throughout the day, with its doors opening at 6 a.m. and closing with the bookstore at 6 p.m.

And last fall, P&P was one of the independent bookstores from around the country featured in the book, “My Bookstore: Writers Celebrate Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read and Shop.” Fannie Flagg, who divides her time between Fairhope and California, wrote a moving (and humorous) tribute to P&P in a chapter about why the store and its family mean so much to her.

These kinds of testimonials about the bookstore and its role and place in the community made Wilson’s talk at the history museum this month especially memorable.

She made an appeal during her talk—a gentle one—for the town to join in support of the store. She spoke in colorful language of the sequence of events over the years of what it has been like to own a bookstore, and explained that the amount of work and attention to detail is daunting at times and yet exhilarating to her and Kiefer.

She spoke frankly about the financial challenges facing the store, as well as the value that a local business brings to a community. She discussed the need for this kind of support and said that P&P fans have rallied around the store and set up meetings to present ideas that might boost the store’s sales and stabilize its place in the community.

Wilson exudes a kind of restful energy that belies her passion for making sure the store endures. She mentioned they cannot sustain the struggle in a fading economy, with a swiftly-moving current of Kindle users and the challenge of competing with Amazon—without the support of the community.

“Page & Palette is the beating heart of literary culture in the bay area. As a writer, I cannot imagine not having that store and its support,” wrote local author John Sledge, who recently published “Southern Bound: A Gulf Coast Journalist on Books, Writers, and Literary Pilgrimages of the Heart.”

Karin’s husband believes that bookstores will come full circle because people need interaction with others, she said. Kiefer told her that people will continue to buy online but the experience of a bookstore cannot be replaced.

In the meantime, the community’s support of P&P is essential to weather the current challenges, she said. To that end, P&P offered a contest to involve local people in selecting a proper name for its supporters. There were dozens of entries, with this one by Dave Hankinson winning: “I’m a Page & Palette Bookmark! Helping to keep our place in the community.”   

The outreach effort by the store includes a colorful T-Shirt designed by local artist Jo Hart Long, which says, “Still Alive at 45!”

Sonya Bennett wrote “The Journey of a Journal” cover story in the March 29 issue of The Courier. She covered the museum talk and handled most of the reporting and writing for this article.