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Your Locally-Owned Bookstore: Oblong Books and Music
by
Ross Rice
When
it was time to name the place, Hermans was inspired by an old railroad
map of the county. Since being settled in the late 1600s, the border
between Dutch New Amsterdam and British Connecticut was generally
in dispute. After the Revolutionary War, the dispute needed to be
reconciled, but the states’ respective surveys were off by
a mile and three-fourths. This narrow strip, running from the Massachusetts
border to the bottom of Putnam County, was referred to as “The
Oblong.” Plus, it sounded cool.
Gradually,
Oblong Books & Music took root in the community, pulling in
business from western Connecticut, as well the northeastern corner
of Dutchess County. Soon they moved to a space three times larger
across the street, and then finally bought the building they’re
in now in 1990. In 1994 they purchased another building that shared
the backyard, just around the corner (which is now the Kid’s
Store) and linked the two together via the backyard. With a hardearned,
solid customer base well established by over twenty years of service,
it was time to see if the apparent success could duplicated elsewhere.
Word
reached Hermans that the owners of newly-built Montgomery Row, just
off the main square in Rhinebeck, were looking for a bookstore to
move in. Fortunately, Rhinebeck was the perfect kind of town for
a new book/music store, with a reasonably affluent and cultured
population that was at the time under-served. A big September opening
was planned, with well-known actors (and Millerton regulars) Edward
Herrman and Jill Clayburgh giving some readings. But something happened
4 days before the big opening on September 15.....2001.
CONTINUE...
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