Books-a-half-a-century

Aug 10, 2005

Richard Gildenmeister, my friend and mentor, celebrates something truly special next month when he marks 50 years as a bookseller in Cleveland.

This Labor Day Weekend, Shaker Square resident Richard Gildenmeister will celebrate 50 years as a master bookseller. In 1955, Richard came to Cleveland from his hometown of Bellevue, Ohio. In September of that year, he began selling books at Higbee’s Department Store, and he’s been putting books into the hands of the city’s readers ever since.

Richard has dedicated his life to books. His has been a life of service to the people who write those books and to the people who read those books. For half a century in Cleveland, he has tirelessly cultivated the relationship between author and reader. He has served equally the national best-selling writer and the local first-time author, the learned intellectual and the just-learning-to-read individual, the wealthy bookstore patron and poor library denizen. He has coaxed hundreds of thousands of readers into bookstores and he has crisscrossed Greater Cleveland to bring the bookstore to the reader.

Download the rest of my press release about Richard’s amazing career: Richard_half_century_selling_books.pdf.

While there won’t be any big soiree for Richard, you can honor him by visiting Joseph-Beth Booksellers in South Euclid, Ohio, or by visiting your local bookstore and spending an hour browsing, reading and buying books.

To learn more about Richard, see my past entries about Richard.

Anton Zuiker ☄