This Month’s Featured Article

Above: Dick with Oblong’s billboard. All photos courtesy of Oblong Books.

As the well-loved independent book shop commemorates 50 years in business, founders Dick Hermans and Holly Nelson, as well as Dick’s daughter and the store’s co-owner Suzanna Hermans, reflect on Oblong Books and its half-century of success. With locations in both Millerton and Rhinebeck, NY, the store’s presence and impact in the region has undoubtedly been extraordinary.

As a true general bookstore, Suzanna highlights that Oblong stocks just about everything, but that their passions lie in fiction, cookbooks, and children’s books. They also offer vinyl, CDs, and a wide variety of charming gift items for readers and non-readers alike. From the moment you step into one of their locations, you can tell that Oblong’s atmosphere and legacy is built on inspiring foundations.

Where it all started

When Dick and Holly first met at a People’s Bicentennial Commission meeting in 1974, it was certainly no coincidence that their passionate beliefs had brought them together. As Holly recalls, the purpose of the group and its meetings “was to put the emphasis of the bicentennial back on the revolutionary roots of the country, as opposed to the corporate sponsorships.”

Eventually, the two began dating, and they started to consider how they could bring Americans closer to those revolutionary roots that started the country. Dick had been working at his father’s insurance agency, while Holly was working up in North Adams, MA. “Dick thought a record store, and I thought a bookstore, would really help move the revolution along,” reflects Holly. “We were young.”

Indeed, though imagining different iterations of this dream, they both wanted to create a place that aligned with their ideals and could better foster these sentiments within the community. Then, a property right in the center of Millerton, NY, where the store demitasse now sits, became available. “We got lucky. We found a little space that was 400 square feet, had been a liquor store, and had shelves. We didn’t have to do anything except dust them,” jokes Dick.

Why “Oblong”?

In addition to the fortuitous storefront they acquired, it also helped that Millerton was a booming business hub. Not only did the village have a strong diversity of offerings, but it also had a long history of commercial success that drew in patrons from all over the area. This historical slant actually inspired the name of the store.

When Dick and Holly encountered a map of the Millerton area that pictured “The Oblong River,” the two became curious about this name in particular and where it came from. Once they dug a little deeper, they found not only the local history behind this word, but their shop’s namesake.

As explained on the Oblong Books website, the store was named after a long, narrow strip of land whose ownership had long been disputed between the New York and Connecticut colonies. In the late 1600s, both colonies had conducted a survey to establish a border 20 miles from the Hudson River. When the outcome left a discrepancy of nearly two miles, the result was a long, narrow strip of territory extending from Dutchess through Westchester County. It was dubbed “The Oblong.”

Both New York and Connecticut laid claim to The Oblong, yet neither had reliable jurisdiction over the territory, making it an outlaw territory for decades. In 1731, New York was given The Oblong through a treaty, while Connecticut was given the wedge of land that now sticks out from its southwestern corner. Dick notes that this land given to Connecticut was called “the equivalent lands,” having the exact same acreage as The Oblong. This border agreement was fully ratified in 1857.

Launching the store & learning the trade

Uniting Dick and Holly’s visions for the store, Oblong would carry both books and music. Dick’s father helped build record racks for LPs and 45s, and they went down to visit wholesaler Bookazine in New York City to start building their stock. They came back with a truck full of books and got started, using an adding machine from 1927 as a cash register and keeping track of everything on three by five index cards.

“We had a little bit of money; Dick had saved some up, but not a whole lot. It was kind of the ‘American Dream’ in some ways, right?” Holly muses. “We just thought, ‘Let’s invest in the kind of future we want to build.’”

With Dick’s background in music and Holly’s enjoyment of reading, the operation soon came together, and the shop opened its doors in mid-October of 1975. To this day, Dick and Holly still remember the first customer they ever had and what she bought. It’s this customer connection that Oblong has been known for since the very beginning. “We just listened to people,” Holly remarks. “The customers came in and asked for stuff. We had good suppliers, so if we didn’t have it, we could find it. It really taught us a lot.”

Holly points out that in the beginning, they didn’t necessarily plan for success, but rather made a plan for what to do if the venture didn’t work out, thinking only a few months ahead while staying open to whatever the universe had in store. “Irving Saperstein said to us, ‘If you’ve made it for one year, you’re good for five,’” Dick recalls.

Indeed, they trusted the process, and it worked: on their second day open, a representative of Rounder Records came into the store, bringing with him a variety of new music and taking Oblong to a new level in terms of genre offerings and overall distinction. They were able to curate an impressive collection, and Dick still has fun checking in new music orders and exploring what customers might buy.

Holly adds that they were also fortunate to have an attainable rent and modest living that kept costs low – even including a stint where they lived off the land in Milan, NY! This approach helped them maintain a pace appropriate for young entrepreneurs, developing their business and honing their craft along the way. Dick quips, “It was really a seat-of-your-pants operation. Every day you came in and said, ‘Okay, what are we gonna learn today?’”

Curating community connection

A pivotal part of what makes Oblong’s essence so inviting and captivating is the store and staff’s commitment to the community. Oblong has been actively engaged with the community from the beginning, getting involved with many local groups in Millerton, including the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association and grassroots environmental organization Hudson Valley GREEN (Grass Roots Energy and Environmental Network).

You can see this community involvement directly reflected in every aspect of Oblong, from its name to the store’s rich local history section. “The knowledge of the region [reflected in the store] is pretty vast,” Holly remarks. “That’s impressive.”

With many former pillars of the community, like Saperstein’s and Terni’s, having left the Millerton stage over the past 50 years, it’s crucial to note the store’s sheer longevity in the region, and what this has come to represent. “This store was founded by people in the community, and it grew organically. There’s no hype about it,” says Dick. “We look at every book that’s published in a year, and we stock the ones we think are interesting.”

Holly highlights that part of what makes Oblong so special is that it creates access to a compelling, cozy atmosphere, full of opportunities, even for those who might not consider themselves a bookworm. “Our decisions were based on, ‘How do we serve our community? How can our store help give people richer, fuller lives?” reflects Holly. “Our shareholders are the community.”

She also notes the power of bookstores to bring you beyond the village while also making you glad to be a part of it. Dick adds, “You come in, and it doesn’t matter whether you’ve read a book ever or just wander around.” He clarifies humbly, “I’m not a literary scholar by any stretch, but I kind of know what people like, and I try to respond to what they’re wanting.”

Relocation, expansion, & growing popularity

In 1981, Oblong Books relocated across the street to the current Cottage + Camp storefront, which had been a men’s apparel store. One of their first employees, Lisa Wright, was hired around this time, and has been with Oblong for over forty years now.

It’s clear that Lisa has left a remarkable impact on Oblong and its legacy: “Tourists will show up in Millerton over the summer and come and ask Lisa what they have to read. It’s amazing,” says Dick. Holly muses, “She’ll read her way through a genre. Just really valuable.” Suzanna adds, “She is an absolute inspiration to me. She is one of the most amazing readers I’ve ever met.”

Along the way, Dick and Holly’s romantic relationship ended, but they remained in business together for many years after that. Dick married Priscilla Herdman in 1982, and their daughter Suzanna became a familiar face behind the Oblong counter as a child. Although Priscilla has never worked in the store, Suzanna emphasizes her mother’s impact. “She has been pivotal to the store’s success as a support for me and my dad,” says Suzanna. “Both my dad and I met our spouses at the bookstore!”

Holly further underscores Priscilla’s importance to the Oblong mission and success in a variety of ways: “She has definitely helped guide the store and its management (Dick and Suzanna) in a consistently meaningful way,” Holly points out. “The success of any small business is built on the strength of those running it, and Priscilla has helped Dick’s commitment to its principles stay strong, and she has raised an amazing daughter.”

By the late ‘80s, Dick and Holly were hosting their very own radio show on Saturday mornings with WKZE. They also started going to different bookseller events and conferences, as well as festivals through the radio show.

In 1990, Oblong relocated once more back across the street to its current location at 26 Main Street. Dick and Holly explain how they bought the building in January, spent six months renovating, and then held a party the day before the opening. “People were just so excited, and we got such a sense of community support!” remembers Holly. Dick continues, “Customers helped move the books across the street!”

The children’s part of the store, Oblong Jr., was added in 1994, making the shop a true family destination and adding an extensive selection of kid’s books and toys to the Oblong repertoire.

Throughout the years, a real page was turned as authors began to seek out Oblong, and not just the other way around. From former Governor of New York George Pataki to Joyce Carol Oates to Walter Mosley, the shop began to dabble in hosting big names and witnessing their true community impact first-hand.

Beginning new chapters

In April 2001, Holly officially retired from the business, and soon after, Dick signed the lease on the Rhinebeck store, which opened later that year at 6422 Montgomery Street.

The power of the written word, to Holly, is a common thread in the world no matter where you are, and she recognizes how fortunate she was to delve deep into that universal theme during her time at Oblong. “In some ways you never lose that connection,” she observes. “There are always new worlds to discover. That’s the privilege of being able to work with books and writing.”

Holly also underscores that Oblong’s succession plan, with Suzanna being incorporated into the business and becoming a co-owner, has been a huge part of the store’s long-term ability to thrive. Indeed, while Dick never pushed Suzanna to join the business, he finds it incredibly rewarding seeing her be a pivotal part of it now.

“I used to describe our roles in the store as: I could look at any book on the shelf and know what their last book was like, and similar authors, and which customers are likely to enjoy it, and all that kind of stuff. Whereas Dick could look at any book on the shelf and tell you how much we owe the publisher!” Holly laughs. “Suzanna combines both of us in that regard.”

Of course, Suzanna grew up in the store, and would go to Oblong in Millerton every day after school. From the moment she could see over the counter, she worked there, and when she went off to theater school and realized it wasn’t for her, she started working in the store again, realizing that bookselling had been her true passion all along.

A bookstore as a beacon

Suzanna helped with the Rhinebeck store opening while she was in high school, and when she came back from college, she managed the location. But as the whole business continued to grow, they decided to hire managers for each store. Today, Carissa Unite manages the Millerton location, while Nicole Brinkley manages Rhinebeck’s store.

As Oblong’s buyer, Suzanna uses a digital catalog and sales histories to inform what to carry and how much of which titles to stock. And when it comes to exploring new authors or debuts, Suzanna deeply considers each title, factoring in Oblong’s clientele, the content of the book itself, recommendations, marketing, and more. With about 20,000 unique titles in the store – out of millions of books published each year – it’s definitely a curation process.

A major facet of Oblong’s offerings is its events program. Working with a number of community partners, this side of their work has grown extensively. They’ve even featured high profile names like Stephen King, Salman Rushdie, and Hillary Clinton.

From the sheer amount of effort required to coordinate a prolific visitor such as Clinton (thanks to events coordinator Helen Seslowsky), to having a signed pre-order campaign with Hilarie Burton Morgan during the height of the pandemic, selling 10,000 copies and shipping each book in-house, Oblong has certainly seen its fair share of pivoting, adapting, and growing with any development that comes their way.

This fall, they’re hosting many exciting events, including one with Elizabeth Gilbert. Suzanna explains, “We’ve grown our reputation nationally with publishers so that they know they can send their authors here, they’re gonna have a great time, and they’re gonna sell some books.”

But just as important to Oblong are the smaller events and the events spotlighting local authors. This has always been incredibly important to their mission, and this overarching community-based sentiment has remained a common thread throughout the decades. “It’s really important that your business is for everybody,” Suzanna points out.

She also emphasizes Oblong’s love of partnership and collaboration with anyone, from teachers to local organizations. “We really do see ourselves as a community center. We partner with local libraries and schools, and we donate to local nonprofits. Our staff lives here and spends their salaries here, so the money circulates right back into our community. That is really critical,” she explains. “We also want to be a place to hang out. We’re happy to have you, even if you don’t have a dollar to spend with us today.”

Ultimately, at Oblong, it is truly the people that make the place. Dick, Suzanna, and Holly alike all highlight the connection afforded through and encouraged by the shop over the years, and while each day brings new books, new patrons, new lessons, and new challenges, one thing is certain.

“Having a bookstore in your community is a really special thing,” Suzanna states. Considering the other local bookstores in the region and the area’s public libraries, Suzanna truly believes that a rising tide lifts all boats. “Access to literature, to community, that is what books and libraries do, and I’m glad we’re contributing to that.”

Join Oblong Books in celebrating their 50th Birthday Bash on August 9 from 11am to 4pm! Make your way over to South Center Street in Millerton, NY, for a block party full of fun and celebration for all ages. There will be live music, food trucks, a raffle, and more!

To learn more about Oblong Books and access their online store, please visit oblongbooks.com. You can send them an email at info@oblongbooks.com. Oblong Books is located at 26 Main Street in Millerton, NY, and you can reach this store by calling (518) 789-3797. Oblong Books is also located at 6422 Montgomery Street in Rhinebeck, NY, and you can reach this store by calling (845) 876-0500.