LIFESTYLE

See how a Michigan town moved 9,100 books one by one to their new home

Apr 15, 2025, 10:54 AM | Updated: 2:12 pm

CHELSEA, Mich. (AP) — Residents of all ages in a small Michigan community helped a local bookshop move each if its 9,100 books — one by one — to a new storefront about a block away.

A “book brigade” of around 300 people stood in two lines on the sidewalk in downtown Chelsea on Sunday, passing each title from Serendipity Books’ former location directly to the correct shelves and alphabetized in the new building, down the block and around the corner on Main Street.

“It was a practical way to move the books, but it also was a way for everybody to have a part,” Michelle Tuplin, the store’s owner, said. “As people passed the books along, they said ‘I have not read this’ and ‘that’s a good one.’”

Momentum had been building since Tuplin announced the move in January.

“It became so buzzy in town. So many people wanted to help,” she said Tuesday.

Tuplin said the endeavor took just under two hours — much shorter than hiring a moving company to box and unbox them. She hopes to have the new location open within the next two weeks.

The bookstore has been in Chelsea, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) west of Detroit, since 1997. Tuplin has been owner since 2017 and has three part-time employees.

“It’s a small town and people just really look out for each other,” said Kaci Friss, 32, who grew up in Chelsea and has worked at the bookstore a little over a year. “Anywhere you go, you are going to run into someone you know or who knows you, and is going to ask you about your day.”

About 5,300 people call Chelsea home.

Friss said Sunday’s book brigade reminded her of “how special this community is.”

Lifestyle

FILE - This Oct. 24, 2016 file photo shows dollar bills in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)...

Associated Press

How to save for short-term goals while keeping long-term ones in mind

You shouldn’t have to cross your fingers and hope for a strong stock market to coincide with your short-term goals. And right now, you probably wouldn’t want to. Because you’re working within a short time frame—think two to six years—investing for shorter-term goals like buying a house or paying for a wedding should look different […]

21 hours ago

FILE—People take pictures of Lake Mead near Hoover Dam at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area,...

Associated Press

Campgrounds and visitor centers at federal lakes are closing amid Trump’s budget cuts

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Campgrounds, boat ramps and other facilities in at least 30 locations at federal lakes and reservoirs in six states will be closed or have their hours curtailed as of mid-May as the Trump administration tries to rapidly shrink the U.S. government. Officials at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees […]

2 days ago

President of the White House Correspondents' Association Eugene Daniels poses for photographers as ...

Associated Press

White House journalists use annual press dinner to celebrate First Amendment

There was no president. There was no comedian. What remained at the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner on Saturday night were the journalists and the First Amendment. The stripped-down festivities were a reflection of the somber tone in Washington at the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, in which he has battled with […]

2 days ago

weekend activities in Seattle magnuson park...

Paul Holden

Festivities around Seattle this weekend: Dancing, Earth Day, street festivals

Discover weekend activities in Seattle, from dancing to Earth Day events and vibrant street festivals.

4 days ago

Yara Alfaqeeh, 20, stands along the Windsor, Ontario, Canada side of the Detroit River on Wednesday...

Associated Press

Canadians put off by Trump’s bluster and border arrests are booking far fewer US visits

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Diana and Rick Bellamy initially planned to take a Caribbean cruise out of Houston before heading to Laurel, Mississippi, to visit the home of one of their favorite HGTV shows, “Home Town.” The Calgary couple scrapped those plans and vacationed last month along Mexico’s Pacific coast instead, put off by […]

4 days ago

FILE - Shane Redhawk who is Sicangu Lakota leads a horse parade at the 40th anniversary of the Gath...

Associated Press

Thousands gather in New Mexico for the largest powwow in North America

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Thousands of people are gathering in New Mexico for a celebration showcasing Native American and Indigenous dancers, musicians and artisans from around the world. Billed by organizers as the largest powwow in North America, the annual Gathering of Nations festival kicks off Friday with a colorful procession of dancers spiraling into […]

4 days ago

See how a Michigan town moved 9,100 books one by one to their new home