The Sly Fox Bookstore, a Virden Square Icon!

By Cindy Ladage

George Rishel and the Rishel family has been part of the Virden business fabric for almost a century.  Their involvement with the community begins with George’s great-aunt Jennie Smith leasing the downtown building where the Sly Fox is currently located, in 1922 where she opened a hat shop.  Ms. Smith later purchased the building and operated a women’s clothing store that was later taken over by George’s mother, Ruth Rishel.

When Ruth closed her business in 1991, George purchased the building and the apartment above moving in.  Gloria Leskovisek leased the store and ran the dress shop, the Pretty Lady until 1998.That same year rather than find a new tenant, George decided he had always been interested in books, so he would open a bookstore.  For years he was open in the evenings and on weekends, then after his retirement in 2002.  He is now opened Tuesday – Friday from 10-5 and Saturday from 10-3.

George’s story!

Growing up in Virden, George worked at his father’s Shell station from the time he was in the 8th grade, until he graduated college.  He was a frequent visitor at the dress shop performing chores there as well.

George had a way with words early on.  “I was a reporter for the Pioneer Press and the DeKalb Daily Chronicle as well as the National Law Journal,” he shared.

Not all of George’s career has been in Central Illinois.  George served as the Communications Director for the American Supply Association and staff attorney for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, and as Assistant General Counsel with the Federal Election Commission in Washington DC. During the Vietnam War he was a military interrogator, and George returned to the Midwest to work for the Legislative Research unit in Springfield retiring in 2012.

The Bookstore

The Sly Fox Bookstore is an independent bookstore.  The building itself was built in 1915 by Eugene Twitchell and his brother John.  George shared that the green and white ceramic tiles out front are a bit unique.  The building located on the Virden square is easily recognizable by the lovely fox mural on the side of the building.

The Sly Fox window is always a place of delight that draws everyone, especially kids in.  The window is always decorated for the holidays, or for special events.

Known for his children’s books, George has a nice collection of Illinois authors who he is supportive of offering occasional events like book signings and special events. The Sly Fox keeps a wonderful selection of mysteries, Christian books, greeting cards and even toys like plush characters and more. The Sly Fox often partners with different groups and conferences providing the books they need.

What’s new at the Sly Fox?

While it's true that things have been moving online, and that a lot of the Sly Fox business is through online ordering that was especially true during the Pandemic.  George sometimes works with Bookshop, and they are able to help find books that may not be physically on the shelves.

During COVID, George took advantage of the downtime to do a little reorganizing of the bookstore, both computer wise and physical wise.

“I took down my wrought iron railing and built shelves.  I computerized my point of sales,” George said explaining that before he always gave out written sales receipts.  Now customers receive printed receipts straight from the computer.

The new shelves are right in front of the window near the children’s chairs and offer a chance for the little ones to have eye level books to view!

This update included the way George ordered books “I expanded my book stock.  I started ordering more books directly from publishers through publishers’ representatives.”

George has been using his writing skills lately.  “I started writing the “Book Buzz” for the Prairieland Buzz Magazine,” George added.

The Prairieland Buzz is a monthly publication put out by Tara Cale offering information in south central Illinois!

This past year George said that business was up in the fall, but it remains to be seen if that will stay true this year.  “I think people preferred shopping in smaller stores rather than big malls,” he added.

As far as reading trends George said at the beginning of COVID that lots of readers seemed to be heading to the old favorite writers and less to the newer books and writers.  Recently new writers and books have been regaining ground, but old favorites have been holding strong with readers.

Advice for the upcoming holiday season

“I’ve been trying to stock up and order early,” George said.  He thinks that because of the slowdowns in the supply chain that shopping early might be a good move.

“Because of the stock and supply chain issues it may be a while after a book run is sold out before a publisher prints more, so I am recommending shop early.  Some publishers are moving back publishing dates.  Capacity for publishing in this country is limited.  Shipments are low, and there is not enough paper”.

Not to worry too much though.  George said that September and October were the big release dates for books this year, and that there have been a lot of great books coming out this fall.  “If we can keep them on the shelves there are a lot of great ones coming out.  The publishers had them come out early to stay ahead of the curve.”

Shop early or get a gift certificate for the picky shopper, then they can select their own!  If you have questions for George, he can be reached at 217-965-3641 or log onto the website at www.slyfoxbookstore.com.