Hoss's Country Corner in Long Lake, N.Y., is not your typical bookstore. It started out as a grocery store/souvenir shop in 1972, but now stocks about 50,000 books. It includes a Christmas shop, a bakery, an ice cream stand, a miniature golf course and an RV park.
Owners John and Lorrie Hosley decided to do an annual event to celebrate books about the Adirondacks in 1984, but they wanted it to be different from the usual author signing. Early on, they began inviting authors to appear under a giant tent. In August of that year, 68 authors signed and read during the two-hour extravaganza, which included musicians performing Adirondacks ballads.
This year it seemed like the Hosleys might have to cancel. "We had a bit of a calamity," explained Lorrie. "Early [the] morning [of the event], a fire caused by a careless smoker spread to one of our storage buildings and completely consumed our gorgeous red and white circus tent." But a customer from a neighboring town not only found the Hosleys a tent, he put it up for them.
