Fireside still smoldering after 10 years

Special to the Frontiersman

PALMER — A local bookstore will celebrate 10 years in business this weekend.

“That’s always been part of what drives me,” Fireside Books co-owner David Cheezem said. “It’s the drive to do what no one expects you to do.”

The store celebrates its first decade with special sales and book signings by local writers Care Tuk, Barbara Hunt and Jackie Ivy.

Fireside Books opened its doors just in time for the Colony Christmas Parade in December 2001. Some of the bookshelves had not yet arrived. Cheezem and his wife and co-partner Melissa Behnke, unpacked the boxes and boxes of used books onto tables and hurriedly entered them into the store’s database.

An Anchorage gossip columnist quipped that she didn’t think anyone read books in Palmer.

“We set out to prove her wrong,” Cheezem said.

Later, Cheezem and Behnke rode the Harry Potter wave — but not by themselves.

“We knew a little 1,500-square-foot store couldn’t handle a Harry Potter release party by itself,” Cheezem said. “So, we invited the whole community to get involved. Downtown storefronts agreed to open their shops at midnight. The activities benefitted the other shops, giving them more exposure and gave Harry Potter fans the chance to dress up, act out and show off their intricate knowledge of the finer parts of the stories.”

But Cheezem is just as proud of the lower-profile events the bookstore has had over the years. It has hosted several Walt Whitman/Emily Dickinson look-alike contests, where contestants were encouraged to dress up and recite works of the quintessential American poets. Cheezem is especially fond of Whitman.

“I’ve always felt that if we lose Walt Whitman, we lose America,” Cheezem said. He said he admires the exuberance, tolerance and inclusiveness of Whitman’s poetry.

When someone joked about the free coffee offered at the store, Cheezem decided to make that a part of the store’s identity. The partners named their website “goodbooksbadcoffee.com.”

The bookstore has held several poetry readings by local poets such as Gretchen Diemer and Randol Bruns, as well as Anchorage poets like Arlitia Jones and Mike Burwell.

To celebrate their anniversary, Fireside Books will have hourly drawings for free gifts. Tuk, author of “Loose Screws and Skinned Knees,” will sign copies of her book starting at 11 a.m., Saturday. Hunt, author of “Alaska Heavylight,” will be signing starting at 1 p.m., the same day. Jackie Ivy, author of numerous romance novels, will be on hand Sunday at 2 p.m.

There will be hourly drawings for free books and special discounts for the bookstore’s staff recommendation titles.

“We want this to be a special day for our loyal customers — a time to say thank you for their support over the years,” Behnke said.