We had to run over the river and through the woods to the delightful burg of Libby, Montana yesterday to pick up a few things. Now, Libby isn't a foreign town to me at all, I first traveled there as a kiddo, in fact, my family was going to move there, but it wasn't to be. I also had one of my most memorable track meets there near the end of the tempestuous, snowy winter of 96'-97', so I remember the place well with an assortment of fond and gee that was cold I hate tiny running shorts memories.
What I wasn't prepared for though was to find a place that made me feel like home, a town resplendently outfitted in ma and pa shops, Pacific Northwesterner mindsets, and some of the best dang burger baskets we've had in years.
It was a most pleasant feeling, I have missed my culture.
Anyway, after enjoying our burgers and visiting the hardware store, the hubs and I checked out a quilt shop, and then meandered down the block because as we had driven in we saw a shopping cart full of books with a sign on them outside this turn of the century building downtown.
Books are kinda my Katnip, the hubs is a sucker for them too. However, we couldn't have been prepared for what was about to greet us as we stepped through the door into the building.
You see, it wasn't really a business. It was someone's collection. And the librarian in me about had a seizure with the absolute state of the place. Boxes everywhere, nonfiction interspersed with fiction, things just strewn about, dust on every surface.
But the Squiggle in me, I about came apart at the existential joy seams with glee! I felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie and I was going to discover a super secret clue. The shelves were floor to white tin ceiling stuffed with all manner of books. There where random ladders, boxes overflowing, and a young man mumbling to himself as he attempted to make some order out of the chaos.
Right off the bat my eyes were drawn to the cookbooks. Long time readers know I am a sucker for vintage cookbooks, as one of my prized possessions is my great-grandma's recipe and cookbook collection. Over the years I have been adding to it, and yesterday I found three delightful additions, one from Idaho even!
This book was printed in Sandpoint, Idaho in 1980! It was in perfect condition, and honestly it was the title that grabbed my attention. On the inside I discovered that the authors/publishers were quite the characters and that all the recipes and wisdom on its pages were sourced from local families and elders who had survived the Depression and were in their 70's+ at the time the book was written. SCORE!
One of the things that really cracked me up, is in the back there was a folk remedy section, and my absolute favorite entry was the one for treating gout. You got a bag that you could stick your leg in, went out to the barn and filled it with fresh cow manure, and stuck your foot and leg into the bag for a good poo soak. I'm definitely not in the mooooood for that as a treatment...
Anyway, the other two books I found were both even older, a Parisian restaurant recipes cookbook and a peasant recipes of the world cookbook. Both of those books have all sorts of dishes that I am going to try this winter when it's cold outside, especially as I now have a gas convection oven, I am super excited to try out some pastries and such.
As I went to the counter to pay for our treasures, I got into a conversation with the young guy who was in charge. The building and its contents belong to a person who wishes to preserve the written word for reference, so much of the non fiction section isn't even for sale, you can just come in and peruse. There's old encyclopedias and reference books galore.
Any bibles in the store are free of charge, and everything else is beyond reasonably priced, I think he only wanted to charge me $16 for my stack, I gave him more. I really love the idea of a private book collection you can come in and utilize for reference and purchase stuff out of to keep the thing humming along.
So you can bet your last bookmark I will be returning for another visit!!
And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's coated in a patina of bookstore dust and must iPhone.
