We're on mountain time here in Salt Lake City,  

so on 9/11 we woke up early to the news of the towers falling in New York. After a stunned conversation with my husband and a quick cup of coffee, I drove directly to our store, as did all our booksellers, knowing instinctively that we had to be open on time. And we were mobbed, not because people wanted to buy books but because they needed a place to be; they needed a place where they felt safe, to talk about and digest what had happened, to express their own shock and fear, yes, but also to listen to others talk, to hear what others were feeling-and thinking-about what had just happened and what it meant.

The store is located in an adobe building just off the plaza in Mesilla. Blevins says the building that was built in the 1850's has housed a mercantile store that provided supplies to the Black Range during the Silver boom there. It also served as a pool hall at one time, which offered poker games.

With corporate chains and online options, a locally- owned bookstore has its challenges.  

Blevins shares some reasons why she thinks the bookstore has been able to last 50 years: "Well, basically, we're a non-profit," says Blevins (laughing). "We specialize in a lot of Western, Southwestern history, a lot of local authors, we have children's books. We've always tried to not carry what you can find at the mall."

Paul Blevins says that they have had very loyal customers over the years, and that has helped as well. He enjoys the interaction with people on a daily basis."The nice part of owning the bookstore or actually any retail business is meeting all of the different people that come in and getting to talk with people, you know they come in from all over the world," Says Blevins.