Tag Archives: Upstate Publishing

Purple Mountain Press in Fleischmanns, New York

© J.N. Urbanski

© J.N. Urbanski

Purple Mountain Press in Fleischmanns, New York publishes hugely popular books of local New York State literature and history including John Burroughs’ book of essays In The Catskills. The office is a smaller structure adjacent to the building that houses the press on Main Street in Fleischmanns. I sat down with publisher Wray Rominger, who is now semi-retired, about the storied publishing house’s achievements and the life of a printer.

JN: How long have you lived in the Catskills?

WR: Since 1973.

What brought you here?

We lived in a school bus and came to Woodstock.

Where did you live in a school bus?

We came from Austin Texas, where I was a graduate student from Austin University. We were on the road for two months and I knew a fella in Woodstock that offered us a cabin. He didn’t tell me that the former tenant had had a fire and that there was a hole in the roof. So we had to live in the school bus for another four months until the roof was repaired.

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