Lost in Long's

I am a country mouse. While friends thrill to the robust frenzy of London and Chicago and Manhattan, I am happiest in towns that qualify for only one or two traffic lights. Throw in the occasional clip-clop of a horse drawn carriage and I'm happy as a pig in slop, as my dad likes to say. One such town in Penn Yan, New York, at the north end of Keuka Lake, and in the heart of New York's wine and Amish country. And one of the hidden treasures of Penn Yan is Long's Cards, Books and Office Supplies, one of my favorite supply stores. They do not offer the vast inventory, or the latest and greatest technology of a strip-mall super store. Rather they offer the unusual, the hard to find, and that rare commodity called customer service.

They have 1 ½ aisles crammed with the latest and the best on technology and business. There's also fiction – classics and best sellers. But there are few of the cheap, paperback thrillers I so enjoy. Evidently Long's believes its customers like to think while they read. Which probably explains why they have the best selection of dictionaries I have seen, outside of a university bookstore.

Need an envelope? Long's offers them by the case, or the box, or individually.
In a seemingly endless variety of shapes, sizes and colors. If you can't find what you need to package it at Long's, you probably shouldn't be shipping it.

But I'm over looking paper, available by the box, the ream, the pad or the sheet. Drawing paper, scrap paper, composition books, resume paper, Crane stationary, a half dozen varieties of notebooks (yes, they have Moleskine). Pencils in six (by my count) degrees of hardness. Let's not forget the pencil sharpeners and erasers, again in a greater variety than one will find at the local Mega Office Staples Max.


I was delighted by their collection of reading lenses. They seemed to have everything, from the big glass for old coot having trouble reading the morning paper (Me!) to the pocket lens for the young Sherlock Holmes to a 10 power pocket loupe for a field scientist. All offered right next to the legal forms, also known as the “Fine Print” section. It's hard not to love a shop with such a sense of humor.

Sticky notes? Long's has those too, again in abundant variety. If you need to tape unruly children to the wall, or flag and cross reference your version of the Great American Novel, they will have what you need.

As noted, if you need software, printer cartridges, a battery for your laptop, or other 21^st Century gadgets, they're not the store for you. And they did disappoint me on my most recent visit. I had taken along a silver-mechanical pencil I had inherited from my father-in-law. I was certain Long's would have leads for it. “I'm sorry,” said the nice man at the counter, “but the last company to make that size went out of business some years ago and our stock is long gone.”

“I was sure you would have it. After all, Joe grew up in this area and may originally have purchased the pencil here.”

The man took a second look at the pencil and shook his head again. “Sorry,” he said once more. “He couldn't have bought that from us. We've only been in business for 40 years.”<