The books were not for sale, but people were welcome to browse.
They did, studying the shelves, picking up titles and showing them to friends, just as they would have when Dean Hauck was standing at the counter.
Hauck, who took the reins at the News, once her stepfather's store, in the late 1980s, died February 8th. The News has been closed since then, leaving a hole in the fabric of downtown Kalamazoo. Hauck's daughters Margaret Hauck and Sarah Smith opened the store Friday during Art Hop so people could see it again as it was.
They greeted people throughout the event, catching up with some, hearing new stories about Dean from others.
There was one line at the door, and another for the guestbook.
"I don't remember meeting Dean, I was in the stroller," one person wrote. "But she's been a part of my life ever since. Words can't explain what she and this place meant to me."
