Second oldest Oregon District business reopening on founder’s 107th birthday

The reopening of one of the Oregon District’s oldest businesses will have special significance.

Bonnett’s Bookstore will be back in business on what would have been the co-founder’s 107th birthday.

Kevin Bonnett says his grandfather Harold "Hal" Murray Bonnett was born on May 12, 1913.

Gov. Mike DeWine announced that retail shops can reopen on May 12 after closing due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Per the governor’s order, the shop closed March 24, Kevin Bonnett’s birthday.

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“Grandpa Harold "Hal" Murray Bonnett was a detective fiction writer before opening the shop with Grandma Ruth (Guy) Bonnett,” Kevin Bonnett said in a Facebook Messenger exchange with his news organization.

The Bonnetts founded their book store at 502 E. Fifth St. in 1939 and it remains family-owned.

Goodwill is the only Oregon District business older than Bonnett's, Kevin Bonnett said.

Harold Bonnett died Nov. 3, 2005 at Hospice of Dayton. He was 92.

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The 81-year-old shop sells and trades vintage and hard-to-find books, movies, comics, magazines and collectibles.

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