The Highway Book Shop was a bookstore and publishing company, located on

Ontario Highway 11 King's Highway 11, commonly referred to as Highway 11, is a Ontario Provincial Highway Network, provincially-maintained highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. At , it is the second-longest highway in th ...

near

Cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, which operated from 1957 to 2011. Considered a landmark and cultural institution in the region, it was one of the largest and most famous independent bookstores in Canada. First established as a conventional printing business in 1957 by Douglas Pollard and his then-wife Jean (née Hope),"Highway Book Shop owner remembered as interesting entrepreneur"
''

North Bay Nugget The ''North Bay Nugget'' is a newspaper published in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. The paper is currently owned by Postmedia. History The paper was launched in 1907 as the ''Cobalt Nugget'', during the silver boom at Cobalt, Ontario. It was acqu ...

'', November 27, 2009. the business expanded into book sales after accepting a box of books as alternative payment for a printing job. As the business grew, Pollard eventually expanded further into book publishing, releasing an extensive catalogue of titles in English, French and

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

languages."New chapter for landmark Highway Book Shop in Cobalt"
''

'', June 28, 2010. Books about the history and culture of

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

were the publishing arm's primary interest, although the company also published some fiction and poetry titles by local authors, as well as how-to and humour titles. In addition to its physical store, the shop also maintained an extensive

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...

business, as well as a search service for people interested in purchasing rare or out-of-print books, and frequently travelled throughout Ontario to sell books at regional fairs and festivals. At its peak, the store had over 300,000 titles in stock in a variety of locations, including the main building, on-site trailers and several warehouses."The writing on the wall". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'', August 12, 2001. By the early 2000s, the store also had a presence on

AbeBooks AbeBooks ( ) is an e-commerce global online marketplace with seven websites that offer books, fine art, and collectables from sellers in over 50 countries. Launched in 1996, it specialises in used, rare and out-of-print books. AbeBooks has been a ...

, increasing its visibility for international sales of its rare books. Following Jean Pollard's death, Douglas remarried in 1979 to Lois (née Williams), who also became active in the store."Highway Book Shop Fonds". Laurentian University Archives. Douglas Pollard was awarded an honorary doctorate by

Nipissing University Nipissing University is a public university located in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. The campus overlooks Lake Nipissing. History Northeastern University (1960–1967) The roots of Nipissing University date back to 1947, when residents of North B ...

the following year, the first honorary degree ever granted by that institution. Douglas Pollard was also active in the national literary community, including as a board member of the

Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by O ...

and as a member of the committee for the

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. He was inducted into the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2008, although he died in 2009 before his actual induction ceremony. Lois Pollard accepted the award on his behalf. In her late 80s and keen to retire, Lois Pollard placed the store up for sale soon after Douglas' death,"Two Highway 11 institutions turn the page"
''

Northern Ontario Business Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

'', August 12, 2010. but closed it in 2011 after failing to find a willing buyer."New book about the Highway Book Shop". ''Points North'' (

CBCS-FM CBCS-FM is a Canadian radio station. It is the CBC Radio One station in Sudbury, Ontario, broadcasting at 99.9 FM, and serves all of Northeastern Ontario through its network of relay transmitters. The station's studio is located at the CBC/Radi ...

), November 21, 2011. She published a history of the store, ''Highway Book Shop: Northern Ontario's Unexpected Treasure'', in 2011, and donated a large collection of records and memorabilia from the store to the

Laurentian University Laurentian University (), officially Laurentian University of Sudbury, is a mid-sized Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, incorporated on March 28, 1960. Laurentian offers a variety of undergr ...

archives in 2010 and 2011. The company was purchased in 2012, although the new owners have not reopened the physical store. Legacy website is maintained by White Mountain Publications for historical reference only.

References

External links

Highway Book Shop
{{Authority control Independent bookstores of Canada Defunct retail companies of Canada Book publishing companies of Canada Defunct publishing companies of Canada History of Cobalt, Ontario Publishing companies established in 1957 Retail companies established in 1957 Retail companies disestablished in 2011 1957 establishments in Ontario 2011 disestablishments in Ontario Canadian companies established in 1957