A shop owner who was, well, an open book
Alida Roochvarg, owner of Paperback Bookseller, at the front desk of her Hempstead store in the early 1970s. Credit: Yesh Ballon
From the late 1950s to the early 1980s, Hempstead was home to a unique bookstore run by a remarkable woman, Alida Roochvarg.
Beginning in 1946, my parents owned a candy store in West Hempstead, across from Roochvarg's Pharmacy. Solomon ("Doc") Roochvarg and his wife, Anna ("Mrs. Doc"), the owners and pharmacists, had three children: Alida, Dorothy and Myron.
The Roochvargs’ love of books was central to their lives. Doc campaigned to establish the West Hempstead Public Library. Alida and Myron, after obtaining the requisite college degrees, became librarians. Myron was the longtime director of the Commack Public Library. Dorothy was in publishing for a tim
e. After Mrs. Doc’s death, Doc married a reading teacher.
Alida and my mom were close friends. One day in the late 1950s, at the Oasis Diner in Rockville Centre, Alida told my mom and me of her plan to open a nearby bookstore that would sell only paperbacks. With Myron’s help at the outset, Alida opened The Paperback Bookseller at 147 Front St. in Hempstead and gave it a slogan: "If it's bound in paper, we're bound to have it." Alida made sure the store lived up to that self-imposed mandate.
When the inventory grew too large, Alida bought the land at 148 Front St. and oversaw construction of a three-story building. I worked there, summers or part-time, from the mid-1960s to the early ’70s. Without the help of computers, Alida and her staff kept the shelves stocked with thousands of titles of every description. Most days, at least one customer would say, "You don't know how many places I went to before I found this book here!" Alida’s response was always, "You should have come here first." Besides serving walk-in customers, the store supplied libraries and school districts, and shipped books worldwide. In 1964, Alida also owned and ran “Books at the Fair,” the bookstore franchise at the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows that sold best sellers and other popular books.
Quiet times in the store and coffee breaks provided Alida and her staff with opportunities to discuss the issues of the day. Most employees were in their teens or 20s. Alida was worldly, wise, well-read and well-traveled. She was boss, mentor and friend to her young staff.
When I returned home from Washington and Lee University in November 1966, Alida was in the hospital with pneumonia. When my mom and I visited her, we encountered two other visitors I had never met: Alida's cousin Aline, and Aline's daughter, Barbara. I soon got to know Barbara very well. Barbara and I became engaged in 1968, and Alida, always generous, hosted a large party for us at Cooky's Restaurant in Hempstead. Alida was a special guest at our wedding in 1970.
Expressway writer Howard J. Herman of Great Neck. Credit: Barbara Herman
In the early 1980s, Alida retired from the bookstore and sold 148 Front St. to the Interfaith Nutrition Network to serve as a soup kitchen.
It’s hard to believe, but Alida is best remembered by many not for her bookstore, but for her collection of books on – what else? -- the subject of books. The catalog that she wrote regarding her collection of 2,690 books is well known to book collectors.
Until Alida’s death in 1993, she was with our families as we celebrated many joyous occasions. Her impact on my life cannot be overstated. She touched the lives of others most profoundly, as well.
Reader Howard J. Herman lives in Great Neck.
