The town of Chelsea, near here, has a lot going for it. Fabulous old houses, a thriving downtown, and notable restaurants. Plus, of course, it’s friendly, but that’s to be expected. Friendliness is a hallmark of the Midwest. The level of friendliness in Chelsea this week, however, made national news.
Michelle Tuplin owns an independent book store on East Middle Street in Chelsea. That is, the store was on East Middle until a couple days ago, when it moved to a new location on Main Street, about a block away. The distance was small, but moving upwards of nine thousand books anywhere is a logistical challenge.
How did Tuplin tackle this challenge? Via book brigade. She put out an appeal for anyone who wanted to help to show up downtown at the appointed hour, and show up they did. Some three hundred of them. Helpers ranged from six years old to ninety-one. Folks came on their own, in groups, and in families. They came with willing hands and willing hearts.
The crowd formed two lines, stretching from inside the old location, down the street and around the corner, to inside the new location. Facing each other across the sidewalk, the lines passed books, hand to hand, from the old shop to the new.
People chatted as they worked. With music playing at both shop sites, people danced as they worked. They checked out titles as they worked. They came up with creative ways to pass books—over the head, over the shoulder, two books at a time. The work was joyful, and in two hours, all the books made it to their new home.
Tuplin was bowled over by the turnout. The helpers had a wonderful time and felt not only that they’d helped a friend and done something worthwhile, but that they’d been part of a special community. One where niceness prevailed, everyone worked toward a common goal, and all were welcome. Tuplin is planning Serendipity’s grand opening for Independent Bookstore Day. I expect a massive turnout.
My friend Sue and I just got back from a long walk along the Huron River. We were massively overdressed as, although it’s snowed in the last few days, today the temperature reached seventy-eight degrees. Turtles were out basking on branches and boards that have fallen into the river. This is perfect weather for basking, and there was competition for good basking spots.
In addition to the turtles already in desirable locations, there were lots of turtles in the water nearby interested in joining them in the sun. Only they were having trouble heaving themselves up there. One in particular tried over and over. It would work up speed as it swam toward its goal, place its front feet on the wood, pull its upper body up, and fail to muscle the rest of itself out of the water. It was still trying when Sue and I resumed out walk.
Further along, we passed a downed tree trunk where The Big Turtles basked. They were impressive. Then we passed the area near the canoe livery. Long docks parallel the river banks, and there were baskers there, too. Of the human persuasion. There was no school today and, like turtles, our young people know what to do on a lovely, warm day.
Earlier in the week, the Fiber Arts Guild offered a presentation on wire weaving. The weaving in question produced sheets of wire fabric used extensively in making paper. The speaker, Sue McDowell, focused on the American Metallic Fabric Company of Cape Cod, in which her family was extensively involved from the 1880s through the 1990s. Why the 1880s? The invention of the typewriter occasioned a massive increase in demand for paper, and hence for wire cloth.
The paper-making process proceeds from a slurry of water and the ingredients of paper that then gets gradually drier as the wet mat of fibers is compressed against wire cloth and wound over, under, and through a series of rollers, with paper as the end product.
As inventors came up with machines to produce larger and larger sheets of paper, they also had to come up with machines to weave wire into sheets of mesh cloth of sizes sufficient for making that paper. Wire cloth is still used in paper making, but now has other commercial and industrial uses as well.
McDowell brought along samples of wire cloth and artefacts from her family’s history in making it. Her presentation offered a number of examples of how inventors have affected history, and she wrapped up with footage of a modern Swedish wire-weaving factory. It looked like a laboratory.
18 April 2025