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MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — While the heavy rain darkened the sky and flooded the streets of Manhattan on July 13, an Aggieville institution was selling to customers one last time.
Manhattan residents filled Varney's Book Store to purchase everything the store had left to sell. The store was clearing out its large space with a fire-sale auction as part of its official closing.
The Manhattan Mercury (http://bit.ly/2ac9nHZ ) reports that one man walked out of the store with three cases full of screwdrivers and wrenches, which weren't normal items Varney's sold. But with the store closing for good, the tools no longer served a purpose in Varney's warehouse. While some customers at the auction were other business owners purchasing practical items that could be used at their own businesses, such as bookshelves and mannequins, some were there hoping to cement memories.
Josh Donnoe, who will soon begin pursuing his master's degree at Kansas State University, said his 2-year-old son, Benjamin, often joined him when he shopped at the store.
"Every time we come here he has to play with the train set," Donnoe said. Benjamin continued to play on the set while others rushed back to the warehouse part of the auction. "I bought all my textbooks here. It's a shame the place is closing down."
The Varney's history begins in 1890 when 22-year-old Guy Varney opened his first bookstore in downtown Manhattan, according to 'The Varney's Book Story,' a book by local historian Dan Walter, who previously worked for the store.
"I started working there in 1979, and we were the little off-campus store that was the students' friends," Walter said. "We did all sorts of things and whatever it took to get the students the books they needed."
Varney's was one of the oldest businesses in town before it closed on June 30 after 126 years of business.
After opening the store, Guy bought several plots of land in an area developing near campus that would become Aggieville. He opened a second location, called College Book Store, which was half bookstore and half ice cream and candy shop, according to the book.
In 1916, he built a new two-story building for the Aggieville location that was right on the trolley line. He later sold the downtown store.
When Guy died, his wife Grace took over the store. Then their son Ted took over and managed the business through the Great Depression years.
Ted was called to duty in the Army during World War II, and his mother and wife continued to operate the store.
Ted returned to Manhattan after the war and served as a pivotal figure for the store as it became an institution in the community. Ted also served on the local Chamber of Commerce, was director of the state Chamber of Commerce and was an officer for the Aggieville Merchants Association.
Ted's ownership practices, including making a green sidewalk leading to the store and wearing a straw hat with money falling out of it during book buyback periods, earned him the moniker "Crazy Ted."
"Ted was a showman," Walter said. "He had some speakers mounted (in his car) so he could go around on campus and yell 'Come to Varney's Bookstore, the one with the green sidewalks!' He showed a little flair."
During Ted's ownership, the store cemented its legacy in 1953 when Kansas State University students helped put the kibosh on opening a new university- owned bookstore in the student union. Laura Speer, a member of a student judicial committee, argued that Varney's and another bookstore located in Aggieville served students well already. "The students weren't going to gain anything, the prices were going to be the same," Walter said. "What they had at the time was two professional retailers competing against one another, and that competitive spirit served the students better than what would have taken place at the union."
Some argued Speer was only defending Varney's because she was dating Bill Varney, Ted's son, at the time.
"I hope my girlfriend would try to protect me," Walter said with a laugh. "But I don't think it was a bad move for K-State students at all."
Another giant figured joined the staff in 1957 when Ted hired Jon Levin to serve as a textbook manager. Jon put in countless hours and late nights serving the store.
Jon served alongside Ted until the owner decided to retire from running the store, allowing Jon to take over and become part owner. Jon later took full ownership of the store in 1992 when Ted died.
Jon led the store into its new era, and in 1998 the company purchased and renovated the nearby Campus Theatre building with its iconic marquee, which will forever be associated with the store.
Walter, who worked for Jon for 30 years, said he wrote the book in honor of the Varney's but also as a gift to Jon.
"I have a great deal of respect for Jon," Walter said. "The book that I wrote was primarily designed to honor Jon for his years working there and putting some of those stories in writing."
But recently, Varney's struggled to challenge online competitors, namely Amazon, said Steve Levin, Jon's son.
Steve said the store's revenue decline of 80 percent in the past three to four years led to the "very difficult" decision of closing the store at the end of June.
"We tried our best," he said in June. "We love Varney's. It's a very difficult thing to look at this and say this is the best thing to do."
All four of the store's locations closed, but the Aggieville store with its iconic marquee may leave the largest hole in the business community. The Levins are currently working to sell the building.
Traci Taylor, Aggieville economic development consultant, said Varney's and the Levin family has always been supportive of Manhattan and Aggieville.
"Not only are they integral to the business community, they are very supportive of community events," Taylor said. "That's something we're going to miss."
She said Varney's will be remembered because it was considered a flagship business of Aggieville.
"They will be greatly missed because they've been a part of Aggieville for so long," she said.
Scott Lounsbury, who worked at Varney's for two years and was helping out during the auction, said he was saddened by the store's closing. He said his best memory of Varney's was the staff trips together.
"There certainly have been a lot of memories," Lounsbury said of his time at Varney's. "It's really sad and kind of depressing. Even though I haven't been here that long, I put in a lot of hours here."
Kyra Dreiling worked for Varney's while she was a student a K-State from 2001 to 2005, she said.
"I used to work here all through college," she said. "I'm really sad. It's a tradition."
Kyra and her husband, Dustin, both work for the K-State Super Store, which was a competitor of Varney's. Although they were competitors, the two companies worked together on a Kansas State T-shirt a year ago, Dustin said.
"That was a lot of fun having both Manhattan based companies working together," Dustin said. "Even though we are competitors, we're still partners in a lot of ways too."
Both said they will miss Varney's in the business community.
"We want competition, because it's healthy competition," she said. "Varney's has always been a great retailer. We're just sad to see it go."
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Information from: The Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury, http://www.themercury.com
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