Recently I did something I vowed never to do again. I purchased a print book! I was reading Lost Towns of the Hudson Valley and one chapter is about Roseton, where several large brick manufacturers were located.

We've been putting up a new Beagle- and critter-proof fence in Castleton, and our hard is pure Hudson River clay, perfect for brick-making. I've been working in the garden, and I have a bunch of bricks holding down the bottom of the deer fence. Some of the bricks were toted all the way from Brewster when we moved to the Capital District in 1985, and others were here, undoubtedly made at the long-defunct Brickyard.

The chapter piqued my interest, and I examined some of my bricks more closely. One has "JMC" on it. From the lost towns book, I figured that meant Jova Manufacturing Company, and I was able to confirm that at this website. I wanted to know ,ore about the Brickyard in Castleton and the brick industry in general, and discovered this book is one of the best sources.

It is out-of-print so an ebook is not an option.So I bought a copy on amazon from a seller offering used copies. Many were the same price, so I chose the most highly-rated vendor with the best condition copy. I paid no attention otherwise. Shortly afterwards, I received an email from this local bookstore.

Turns out they were the seller! The owner dropped the book off at my house and gave me a gift certificate for the shipping.