Kay Graham grew up loving books. She read constantly, often falling asleep with a book in her hands. An art major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kay taught art for 32 years in the Johnstown school system, but continued her love affair with books - collecting and selling antique books as a business and hobby. “I guess you could say I always fiddled around with books,” she said. After she retired in 2000, she took her interest a step further, opening a small antiquarian bookstore in Schellsburg. At the urging of Bedford business owner Elaine Housel, Kay moved her shop downtown Bedford a year ago, opening Time & Time Again in the former location of Deepwood Gallery. “We fixed the place up ourselves and opened for fall foliage (festival). I guess we were in the right place at the right time because the book store has been successful beyond my wildest dreams. We’re not making a ton of money, but it’s more than supporting itself,” Kay said.

Her shop has an eclectic mix of antique books, good used books and some new books along with gifts and even orchids. She’ll soon be adding natural fiber yarns and will sponsor rub hooking and knitting classes this winter. “I’m trying to fill a need in the community,” Kay said. “Books are knowledge. There’s very little you can’t find out from books, and old books have been tested. There’s a lot of chaff in modern publishing, but a good old book is timeless.” Meeting community needs has also led Kay to open the shop several evenings a week as a meeting place for organizations - a book club, classics book club, writers group, chess club - are among the groups that call Time & Time Again home. “I realized there just weren’t places to meet downtown and wanted to support their efforts. We all need to do things that slow us down a little more and enjoy life and each other.”

Kay’s business ventures have helped her enjoy her own life - even while teaching, she usually had her hand in one business or another. In addition to collecting and selling books, Kay catered, grew flowers for sale, vegetables for restaurants, and all of these ventures showed a profit. “You’re in business to make money and need to have a good plan and work toward your vision,” she said. “That plan can be flexible, but you need that blueprint to be successful.” Where does she send people who want to learn more about starting their own business - to an old book, of course - “Growing a Business,” by Paul Hawken. Published in 1987, Kay said it’s still the best book she’s seen to help entrepreneurs be successful.

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