In my recent trip to Minneapolis, I did a little traveling through Wisconsin on the way north, stopping off in Madison for a day, and then I drove through the beautiful driftless region and spent some time in the wonderful town of Viroqua. Viroqua blew me away. I spent my high school years in Tomah, Wisconsin, a small and very conservative town only about an hour from Viroqua. In the 1980s and 90s, Tomah lost its main street community to Wal-mart (and the north side of town generally), and in true Republican spirit, prided itself as being the home stomping grounds of Tommy Thompson. So, the progressive town of Viroqua - filled to the brim with liberal environmentalists, progressive naturalists, libertarian Do-it-yourself survivalists, practitioners of eastern philosophical schools, organic and family farmers, independent business owners, co-ops of every imaginable stripe - is indeed an oddity in rural conservative Wisconsin. As my friend put it, there must be an enviro/organic/co-op/libertarian revolution going on there in Viroqua!
What got me visiting the town, besides my memory of its scenic beauty when I visited the place in December 1989 as part of a tour in the La Crosse Youth Symphony, was the independent bookstore in town, Driftless Bookstore. I first heard of Driftless on Facebook, mentioned by an old high school acquaintance who now lives in the town. By its website, Driftless appears to be quite large, both its store and its online business. However, its public presence leaves a little to be desired. For days prior to my arrival in Viroqua, the website was down and it was difficult to find an address for the store. I knew that it would be closed on Sunday and Monday, and so I wouldn't be able to visit, but I thought that I would at least be able to see the store from the outside. But, no luck, the store is very hidden inside a public market and not visible from the outside. It was actually very difficult to locate and I only surmised its location by using my GPS and inferring that the sign that said "books" on the outside meant a bookstore was in the vicinity. I'm sure I'll visit Viroqua again someday, perhaps as a vacation spot, and Driftless Books will be on my sightseeing list.
This time around, however, I did visit a bookstore in town in the time I was exploring Viroqua, Just down the street from Driftless, well situated on Main Street, is the Bramble bookstore. Bramble is very typical of small-town bookstores, having a small but respectable collection of new books on popular topics and a friendly, small town atmosphere. I noticed that it had big Do-It-Yourself sections that focused on gardening, farming, woodworking, etc., as well as good self-improvement selections such as parenting, nutrition, etc. The collection was broad, having the categories of sports, outdoor activities (especially those popular in the region), and local and regional history. Other sections, such as the fiction and political sections, were much smaller, containing a limited selection of popular titles. And the person working the store, perhaps the owner, was very friendly. Overall, it was nice to see a bookstore of such small-town charm. Only in Viroqua, with a population little over 4,000, would it be possible to have two independent bookstores!
Bramble Booksellers
117 South Main Street
Viroqua, Wisconsin 54665
(608) 637-8717
www.bramblebookstore.com
Driftless Bookstore
215 South Main Street
Viroqua, Wisconsin 54665
(608) 627-1132
www.driftlessbooks.com
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