Plants Etc. and The Bookstore carry on a longtime Lewisburg tradition

By Jenny Harnish, RealWV

LEWISBURG W.Va — Darlene Fife remembers the time before Walmart and Lowe’s arrived in Lewisburg, when there was a pharmacy and a grocery store downtown and traffic was a lot lighter. 

For the last 49 years, she has worked at The Bookstore and Plants Etc., now the oldest stores in downtown Lewisburg. 

“The store Plants Etc. opened in 1977 with Madeline Campbell, and Robert Head and I started The Bookstore at the same time,” she said. In 1981, when Campbell was ready to move on, Fife decided to join management at Plants Etc.

When Plants Etc. opened, it was primarily a plant store. The “Etc.” came from the Greenbrier Artists, who found a home to sell their artwork. 

Fife said after Walmart and Kroger moved in and started selling plants, it became too hard to compete with them, so the store evolved into more of a gift store. What didn’t change was the commitment to supporting local artists, and today, the store sells works from artists all over the country and the world. 

“We have about five of the original artists who started here in 1977,” Fife said. “One started when she was 20 and is now in her 70s.”

“We sell a lot of pottery, candles, stained glass, leatherwork, wooden products, like cutting boards, and they’re all made by individuals, and we can tell you about them. Like one of our artists — her father was one of the original artists here.” 

“Our cards, journals, and stationary have always been a staple.”

After Robert Head passed away in 2025, the adjoining bookstore is now run by Fife and partner Ashly Bargman. The two still actively go to bookstores all over the state and have several book scouts, who bring them books. 

The Bookstore is a collection of scarce, scholarly, and out-of-print mostly non-fiction books. 

“History, philosophy, poetry — every country, every state, every war has a section. A lot of homesteading, music books and famous authors,” Fife said. “We have people who stop by and ask if we buy books, but we’re very particular.”

Bargman said what she loves about the store is that it is very family-oriented.

“I know these people. Some of our companies we have carried since 1977. We still sell them. They still make them.”