Carl and Troy Carlson, who own Old Sacramento’s Stage Nine Entertainment Store, hosted an extraordinary event at The Underground Vault inside their store at 102 K St. That four-day event began on Friday, June 2.
Stage Nine’s event honored Margaret Kerry and Michelle St. Laurent.
Kerry is the original reference model for Disney’s Tinker Bell character, and she and St. Laurent, Disney artist extraordinaire, were there showcasing their amazing work and sharing their stories with guests on Friday night. What a couple of talented ladies!
Carl and Troy also celebrated
Kerry’s 94th birthday and her 90th year in show business.
During the event, on Friday, Kerry said, “Faith, trust and pixie dust!” She had attendees repeat that phrase at the end of her speech that night before sprinkling them with fairy dust.
Kerry wrote a book, titled “Tinker Bell Talks!: Tales of a Pixie Dusted Life.” It was available for purchase at the event, along with the beautiful artwork, “Pixie in the Camellias.” They had 16-inch by 20-inch and 12-inch by 16-inch paintings for sale.
Troy asked St. Laurent to draw a painting with Tinker Bell that included images of
camellias, since the camellia is the officially flower of the city of Sacramento. So, this painting is very special for Sacramento! Because of her role as the president of the Camellia Society of Sacramento, West Sacramento resident Julie Vierra received a special invitation to attend this event.
“I was treated like royalty, too,” she said. “What a fun event. If you get a chance, please stop by Stage Nine, go down to the Vault and enjoy all the Disney (memorabilia) that is available for purchase.
“I purchased a ‘Pixie in the Camellias’ for myself, along with Margaret’s book. Both women are a kick, and I enjoyed listening to the two of them talk about growing up around Disney. What a fun event and I hope they return soon.”
Crawford’s Books, one of the Sacramento area’s few used bookstores, will reach a special milestone this August: its 40th anniversary.
This business has operated at its current location, 5301 Freeport Blvd. #200, between Hollywood Hardware and Little Caesars Pizza in the Hollywood Park neighborhood, since at least 2009.
Sue Richards, owner of this bookstore for the past five years, referred to her business’s upcoming anniversary as “pretty incredible.”
Richards acknowledged the store’s original owners, Jim and Joyce Crawford, who she noted were able to survive the emergence of big-box stores and Amazon.
“A lot of that success had to do with the service they provided,” she said. “It feels great to continue the legacy that the Crawfords established. They put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it.”
In mid-August 1983, this
bookstore made its debut as The Book Rack. The store was then located in Greenhaven Plaza at 374 Florin Road, at Riverside Boulevard, in the Pocket area.
In September 1983, for an article in The Sacramento Bee, Jim spoke about one of his inspirations for getting involved as a bookseller while he was living in Oklahoma.
“One reason we opened up, I’ve always gone to bookstores and I’ve took my son,” he told The Bee. “I lost him – he was 6 at the time – and he ended up in the section with the naked
posters and stuff. What was needed was a family trade center, and I’d always wanted to own a bookstore.”
The Crawfords’ then-new, used bookstore, which featured only paperbacks, was part of a franchise operation, which had nearly 200 stores nationwide.
Prior to moving to the Pocket area in May 1983, Jim operated three of those franchises in Oklahoma City.
The Crawfords’ decision to move to Sacramento was based
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on the city’s warm climate, as well as a market analysis that determined that a franchise store would be successful in California’s capital city.
Convenience played a large role in choosing a store site, as the Crawfords’ bookstore was located only six blocks from their Pocket area home on Clipper Way.
At that store, one could buy paperback books for half the cost of their regular prices. The store purchased used books from
the public for a quarter of their original prices.
The store proved to be successful at that site, as customers were regularly drawn to its large inventory, which featured thousands of used paperback books.
By August 1988, The Book Rack had relocated to 5141 Freeport Blvd.
The Book Rack’s Citrus Heights location at 6632 Greenback Lane was in operation by 1990. It was one of the stores in a small shopping center near the intersection of Dewey Drive and Van Maren and Greenback lanes. Other stores in that center were Toscano’s Fast Italian restaurant, J P Audio Video Service, and Dewey Liquor.
The Crawfords began using the name, J. Crawford’s Books, for their business as early as 1992, thus abandoning The Book Rack name.
On July 31, 1993, the grand opening of the Crawfords’ new store at 5011 Freeport Blvd. was held. That bookstore replaced the smaller store at 5141 Freeport Blvd.
See BOOKS on page 5
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How do you spell family fun?... SACRAMENTO COUNTY
FAIR. I am telling you to mark your calendars for Memorial Day weekend 2024, when the fair will return to the Cal Expo fairgrounds.
This year’s fair, which was held May 25 to 29, was filled with constant attractions and entertainment, which delighted families from the capital city and beyond.
For those who missed out on this year’s edition of the fair, my time spent at the fairgrounds on opening day was captured by the lens of my camera, and offers a sampling of some of the thrilling scenes that attendees experienced during this Memorial Day weekend.
has a long history, which dates back to 1937, when it debuted in the city of Galt on the southern edge of the county.
With its nearly 90-year annual family pilgrimage tradition, the County Fair is dedicated to the education of the community and youth in agriculture, business and technology.
The Sacramento community enjoys the fair’s family atmosphere, traditional competitions and agricultural displays, hands-on, family activities, and carnival- and festival-style entertainment.
I’ll be honest, there is a lot going on at the fair, with many forms of entertainment going on at any given time. Several stages draw in crowds to a variety of entertainment, thus offering something for everyone.
I watched the All-Alaskan Racing Pigs twice, and I’ll tell you: The racing pigs are no slow porkers.
was the track that presented the Great American Duck Races. These ducks do not jet, but waddle very fast.
You will laugh at this fair spectacle, and if you have the urge or you have children, there are also opportunities to feed the ducks.
A mechanical dispenser will swallow your two quarters and dispense a handful of duck feed. Regarding duck feeding at the fair, as the sign states, “It will tickle.” I will attest to that!
Throughout the day, I smelled wafting layers of aromas…Giant, hot pretzels, huge corn dogs, french fries, curly fries, burgers, funnel cakes, pizza, deep fried Oreo cookies, and ice cream. The food aromas mixed with the smell of animal manure from the petting zoo, pony rides and live-
At the Sacramento Countycluded in the very reasonablecluded the 4x4 truck pull, Stars
and Stripes Invitation Bull Riding, and the Mayhem Destruction Derby, cost fairgoers an additional fee.
Other fair attractions included horse jumping and the kids’ pedalpowered tractor pull.
One of the more crowded places was the Kids Zone, with a large chess game and a huge checkers game.
Remember the game, Operation? There was also a big Operation game, as well as a very large jigsaw puzzle.
Additionally, there was one section full of reptiles…turtles, snakes, iguanas and lizards of all shapes and sizes.
Want to hold an alligator? Yep, there was also a live alligator.
In this discussion about animals, be sure to stop by the livestock barns and talk to the 4-H and Future Farmers of America kids. They are knowledgeable and very articulate about their animals.
The kids are learning skills and
having fun raising and showing them. I petted several sheep and goats, and even smelled the pigs!
One of the very fun attractions is the hypnotist. Her name is Tina Marie, and she hails from Las Vegas.
I spoke to her before the 4:30 p.m. show, and after my short conversation with her, I felt more selfconfident, had a better memory, was more relaxed, lost weight, and quit smoking. Oh, she is good!
Be sure to see the hypnotist, Tina Marie. You will wonder and laugh.
Next year, start your tradition of attending the Sacramento County Fair. It is not very expensive, and it’s smaller than the California State Fair, which is also held annually at Cal Expo. Also, it’s cooler in May than July.
There are midway rides and games, food and entertainment, lots of food and many entertainment options.
You will have fun with the whole family. And remember, the spelling of family fun… SACRAMENTO COUNTY FAIR.
At its then-new, larger quarters, the store transitioned from mainly carrying used paperback books to also offering an extended selection of hardback books and collectible titles.
The store’s current selection of books at its present location, 5301 Freeport Blvd. #200, mainly consists of paperbacks.
Richards mentioned that her ownership of the store came as a result of a comment that she made to the Crawfords.
“I said (to them), ‘When you’re ready to sell, just keep me in mind,’” she said. “Jim turned to me and said, ‘Joyce and I were just talking this morning about retirement, so let’s do it.’ And the rest is history.”
It was under Richards’ ownership of the store that this business became known by its shortened name, Crawford’s Books.
For Richards, becoming the owner of this bookstore was a dream-like experience, considering that she already loved reading, and
she had a tradition of giving books to her friends and family members as gifts.
Richards said that her love for reading did not begin until after her college years, noting that her high-energy level as a child did not work well for spending lots of time reading books.
“I think it was my short attention span,” she said. “I later had a group of friends that passed books around. I got into reading with them, and we would have a shared experience reading the same book and talking about it. I just developed a passion for it.”
She identified her favorite author as Markus Zusak, an Australian writer who is best known for his novels, “The Book Thief” and “The Messenger,” which became international bestsellers.
With her background in mental health, Richards recognizes books as tools for helping others, as well as entertaining them.
“For me, I love being in bookstores,” she said.
Richards described her business
as a general used bookstore with lots of fiction and military history books, memoirs and biographies, classics and children’s books.
The store, which offers about 40,000 different titles, is divided into various sections, and has reading areas for both children and adults.
As a used bookstore, Crawford’s Books regularly purchases gently used books and offers trade credit for used books. Customers can also buy new books by ordering them through the store.
The store has several employees, and members of Richards’ family have helped in various ways to aid
this business.
Richards’ husband, Greg, designed the layout of the store and built many of the bookcases.
Her daughter, Jenny, currently works part time at Crawford’s, and offers her homemade crafts for purchase in the store.
Richards’ son, David, helps at the store’s front desk and assists with various projects within the store.
Since the fall of 2018, Richards’ sister, Jen, a local high school teacher, has led Crawford’s Mysteries & More Book Club. The club generally has about eight to 15 members and meets at the store on the first Thursday of each month
at 6:30 p.m.
Crawford’s Books has a wide selection of mystery novels for sale.
Richards mentioned that she is always eager to welcome new customers.
“If you are in need of a good book and you’ve never been to our store, we invite you to come check us out,” she said.
Crawford’s Books is open Mondays through Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For additional information about this business, visit the website, www.CrawfordBooks.net, or call (916) 731-8001.
12125 Folsom Blvd. Rancho Cordova
916-351-0227
*Since the State of California requires that tax be paid on all retail sales, we reduce the purchase price by an amount equal to the tax on the reduced purchase price except on Special Buys, Mega Clearance, Serta Arctic and iComfort products. **The Wells Fargo Furnishings credit card is issued by Wells Fargo Financial National Bank. ONE YEAR Special Financing applies to qualifying purchases of $1,500 or more charged with approved credit and 35% down payment. Minimum monthly payments are required during the promotional ONE YEAR period. Interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date at the APR for Purchases if the purchase balance is not paid in full within the promotional ONE YEAR period. Paying only the minimum monthly payment will not pay off the purchase balance before the end of the promotional period. For new accounts, the APR for purchases is 28.99%. If you are charged interest in any billing cycle, the minimum interest charge will be $1.00. This information is accurate as of 1/06/2023 and is subject to change. For current information, call us at 1-800-431-5921.
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