Mariposa Bookstore Owners Begin Picking Up the Pieces

A May 11 fire [1] in downtown Mariposa, California, destroyed an entire block of seven businesses, including Gary and Reva Colliver’s Windows on the World – Books & Art [2].  No one was hurt in the blaze, but estimates put the structural damage alone at more than $1 million.

The Collivers, who on the previous Monday had started negotiating the sale of their business, have set up temporary shop in the backroom of a local deli while they deal with insurance paperwork and fulfill special orders.

Though they are planning to  be out of the business after completing their insurance claim and paying off their debts, the Collivers said their goal is to keep a bookstore in Mariposa. On the store’s website, Gary Colliver explained that he and Reva were still working with the interested party to see if there is a way for the business to be rebuilt on the foundation the couple established over the past five years. “The way is not completely clear,” he said, “but we think it can be done.” In the meantime, the Collivers have almost complete backups of the bookstore’s digital files and are in the process of getting a computer and software, so they can begin working again.

The Mariposa community has offered condolences, best wishes, and prayers to the owners of all the destroyed businesses, and the Collivers offered thanks to those who called, e-mailed, and posted on the store’s Facebook page [3]. “Reva and I had good insurance, so, financially, we think we’ll be OK,” Gary Colliver said. Plans are in the works for the destroyed buildings to be rebuilt, with first options going to previous tenants when everything is finished. “Everyone seems very positive that this tragic event will bring the community closer together and that we’ll all be better when all the rebuilding of infrastructure and our individual lives is as complete as we can make it,” he said.

Until further notice, Colliver will be working, “at least Thursday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., in the back room at the River Rock Café” on Mariposa’s Seventh Street.