There's always something going on in Downtown Cumberland - the heart of the city. 
02/22/2025
Be sure to stop in at The Book Center and say goodbye. The store will close on March 2. Thanks for all the wonderful years.
Reading the Last Chapter
It started as a newsstand at 17 South Centre Street in downtown Cumberland in 1953 when Martin and Jean Schwartz moved to Cumberland from Hagerstown and then became a shopping mecca in downtown Cumberland for over 70 years.
But now, —the Book Center, located at 17 N. Centre, is about the close the book on its own history as the last chapter of this business story unfolds.
“Looking back, both Lee and I chose to spend both our professional and personal time and effort into several community organizations,” Owner Gayle Griffith commented.
Sadly, Lee passed away on May 16, 2022, a devasting blow to his family - wife, Gayle, daughter, Samantha Schwartz-Jones and her husband, Mark, and their granddaughter, Maizy Jean Jones. Grandson Marley was born one year after Lee’s passing.
“Lee had three passions – his family, The Book Center, and ci**rs, and not necessarily in the order,” laughed Gayle.
Allegany Magazine’s biggest retail partner is the Book Center. They sell more Allegany Magazines per month than any of our other retailers and they have since we started this publication in 2006. We wish Gayle all the best in her deserved retirement and we thank her sincerely for her years of hard work and dedication to us and to local authors who found a welcoming home – and a book signing venue – with this legendary and legacy Cumberland business.
You can read the entire story - written by correspondent, Becky McClarran, in our February edition. Pick up you copy at The Book Center this week and tell Gayle we sent you! While you are there, please tell her thank you for everything she has done to make this community a better place.
