Why Small Businesses Matter Special Small Business Saturday: Books on the Common
Why Small Businesses Matter
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Community Champion: Books on the Common
Books on the Common was originally established in 1984 by Bob and Sally Silbernagel, making it a cornerstone of the community for 40 years—an incredible milestone! When did you and Darwin take the reins and why?
A few reasons, and they’re all true:
1. Darwin and I were big customers of Books on the Common from the very beginning when they opened in 1984. We’re both avid readers and loved the store for Bob & Sally’s wonderful selection and for their engagement with their customers. Years after Bob died (too young - he was a wonderful man & a great bookseller) Sally was ready to retire and we didn’t want to live in a town without a bookstore. Darwin had worked for Schlumberger as a research physicist for nearly 40 years when in 2004 they moved from Ridgefield to Cambridge, MA. Ridgefield is home to us, so we decided to buy the store from Sally and keep it going. We relocated from Copps Hill Common (the origin of our name) to Main Street in 2009 and we’re so happy to be downtown in our beautiful, historic building.
Do you have a favorite time of year or a community event that makes the store feel especially meaningful to you?
There are so many events sponsored by our fellow merchants like the Holiday Stroll, and community events like the tree lighting, but our favorite is the annual Halloween Walk! We rent a book character costume every year (and one of our Ridgefield High School staff members wears it - a rite of passage at our store!) The response from the kids and their parents is amazing- to see them meet Mo Willems’s Pigeon, Elephant & Piggie, Maurice Sendak’s Wild Thing, and so many other Children’s literature characters is so much fun!
You’ve partnered with many nonprofits over the years. Could you share some examples of those collaborations?
We’ve seen Ridgefield’s arts, cultural and historical identity grow and flourish over the past several decades. As booksellers, we have happily supported the organizations in town with whom we share a common belief: that literature, history and the arts can define, educate, enlighten, and bring a community together. We happily support and collaborate with CHIRP, the Ridgefield Playhouse, A.C.T. of CT, Ridgefield Theater Barn, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, the Prospector, The Ridgefield Chorale, the Ridgefield Library, Lounsbury House, The Ridgefield Historical Society, Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center, and so many others. We also support many school-based organizations (PTAs, sports teams, and arts organizations) in Ridgefield and nearby towns.
Thank you for supporting our local authors! Are there any who have had a particular impact on you? And do you have any upcoming author events we should look forward to?
Yes! Two local authors should be called out! The first is Jack Sanders, retired editor-in-chief of Ridgefield Press, who continues to amaze us with his output of informative and well-researched books about Ridgefield’s history, people & places. Another is Keith Jones, Founding President of the Ridgefield Historical Society & author of many books - the most recent being The Battle of Ridgefield. In addition, we’ll be hosting Jean Hanff Korelitz (author of The Sequel) at the Ridgefield Library on January 16 and look forward to events with Dan Slater (The Incorruptibles), and Ridgefield authors Gerri Lewis (Grave Words, the second of her Deadly Deadline mysteries), and Suzanne Nelson, with her first historical fiction book. Event dates for all will be set soon!
Thank you, Ellen and Darwin, for owning and operating Ridgefield’s vibrant independent bookstore. A thriving community is often measured by its cornerstones, like a local hardware store and an independent bookstore. We’re fortunate to have both, along with the many small businesses that make Ridgefield such a unique and special place to call home.
Visit Books on the Common’s website https://booksonthecommon.com/ and follow along on social media @booksonthecommon/
HamletHub thanks Fairfield County Bank for making our Why Small Businesses Matter series possible!