Greenwich volunteer retires after 25 years at Holly Hill Book Swap

Bob Bishop's fellow volunteers at the Holly Hill Book Swap surprised him with a retirement party Saturday, Aug. 29, after 25 years volunteering at the Greenwich shed.

Balloons and donuts filled the space at the Holly Hill Resource Recovery Facility. Volunteer Lorrie Stapleton presented Bishop with a giant photo collage spanning his quarter-century at the swap, Greenwich Free Press reported. Volunteers Alexis Voulgaris, Debbie Parker and Ed Parker gathered alongside Stapleton to mark the occasion.

Bishop, a Byram resident known to many as "Bumpy," a nickname one of his grandchildren coined, began filling in after founder Doug Francefort would call him when a regular crew member didn't show up. The two had met through the Retired Men's Association of Greenwich (RMA), which Bishop joined in 2003. He said he has missed only two or three RMA meetings since.

Francefort started the book-recycling effort in 1972 and designed the shed. He passed away in 2020.

"It's these people … beyond belief!" Bishop said of his fellow volunteers. "And the residents are great. They stop and chat and share their stories."

Bishop kept the place running in ways visitors might not notice. He picked out an American flag at Feinsod's in Old Greenwich and raised it from the shed each morning. He kept the donation table freshly painted in red. Before the pandemic forced the shed to close for a year, it drew roughly 250 visitors and 1,000 donated books a day, Stapleton told Greenwich Time in 2021.

The swap reopened in 2021 and continues to route tens of thousands of books to local nonprofits and school classrooms. Local teachers both donate surplus books and pick out titles for their students.

Bishop never slowed down. A former corporate director of human resources, he is an avid reader who always keeps a book on his desk. His granddaughter Bree Bishop, a University of Connecticut student studying psychology and communications, signals her arrival at his house by tooting the horn three times.

The Holly Hill Book Swap is open Fridays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon. Books are free, and visitors do not need to donate to take one home.