By Matt Purdy
Correspondant

      When Kathryn Henderson’s college psychology professor lectured about birth order and its effect on personality, he forgot to mention the only child.  When Henderson raised her hand and reminded him, he described the only child as being leadership-oriented and very responsible.  They are in charge of creating their own world, he said, and they are able to envision something the way they want it to be and create it that way.

        The description fit Henderson, an only child, perfectly.  "Well that explains a lot," she remembers thinking.

        Today, the "world" that Henderson is in charge of creating is Market Street Books and Maps, a community bookstore which held its grand opening in Southern Village on May 3.  She has never owned her own business before, but she is confident that she will be able to handle being the boss.  "It’s just sort of my natural state of being," she said.  "I’m very accustomed to being the person in charge, so for me it was a natural progression."

        She says the reason that she often ends up being the person in charge is simply that she is willing to do the work.  "I like thinking about things and pulling things together and creating things," she said.  "I enjoy creating something and seeing it grow and develop.  Running a bookstore is a very creative process."

        Henderson says she and her staff of 5 are trying to create an atmosphere where people will feel welcome to come in and relax and read.  There is a jar of candy on the coffee table and a jar dog biscuits on the counter.  One regular patron is just tall enough to rest her front paws on the counter and politely ask for a treat.  "That’s definitely one of our favorite things-- visiting with everybody’s dogs," Henderson said.  "You couldn’t do that in a mall.  It’s a really nice daily routine with people coming in, visiting and browsing.  I’ve really enjoyed getting to know people.  I say ‘customers’, but they’re really friends now.  It’s not all about the books."

        Henderson, who graduated from the University of North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and later earned a master’s degree in environmental policy from Tufts University, learned about business by running her husband’s millwork company in Durham.  She and her husband decided to take a break from the millwork business in 1995 after the company finished crafting many of the wood furnishings for the new Durham Bulls Athletic Park, including the players’ lockers and the bat racks in the dugouts.

        Henderson then managed a non-profit agency in Durham, but soon realized that she wasn’t cut out for non-profit management.  When a friend who owned World Traveler Books and Maps on Elliot Road in Chapel Hill called and asked her to come help him out at the bookstore, she jumped at the opportunity.

        In Spring of 2002, she bought World Traveler Books and Maps from the friend.  She says that as soon as the sale was finalized, she called the Southern Village leasing agency to ask about moving the store to Market Street.  "I wanted a place that people could walk to," she said.  "You don’t just stroll up and down on Elliot Road, whereas here in Southern Village you do.  I like the idea of being a neighborhood bookseller.  I grew up with a neighborhood bookstore, so the idea was very appealing to me."

        Southern Village is as happy to have Henderson and her bookstore as she is to be there.  "There’s something about a bookstore that makes a street more civilized," said Southern Village developer D.R. Bryan.  "Weaver Street Market is food for the body; Market Street Books is food for the mind."

        Whether the mind is hungry for Thoreau, Silverstein or a map of Belize, Market Street Books and Maps has it covered.  The new location is larger than the old Elliot Road location and the store now includes sections for fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books in addition to the travel guides and maps that were stocked at the old location.  There are also plans to begin stocking magazines, greeting cards, stationary, and "more stuff for children" by the end of the summer.

        Also, Market Street Books and Maps will offer a variety of book-related programs.  In addition to authors’ book readings, there will be Story Time at 10:30 each Thursday morning and Craft Time on the second Saturday of each month.  At the first Craft Time, held during the Grand Opening weekend, children made their own books with the help of local artist Debbie Suchoff.

        "There are endless opportunities to create a new fun something to do," Henderson said.

        Diane Covington, a Southern Village residence since 1996, says that she goes into Market Street Books and Maps quite regularly with her 5-year-old daughter Amelia and 11-year-old son Brooks.  "My children love going in there," she said.  "No one makes you feel like your child shouldn’t touch things, so as a parent it’s nice, especially with my 5-year-old is going through every book in the store."

        One of the most gratifying moments for Henderson came when a young girl walked into the store, pulled a book of the shelf in the children’s section, and then curled up on the sofa and began reading.  "That’s what I wanted when I opened up," Henderson said.

        Henderson envisioned it and she made it happen.  It must be nice to be an only child.

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