Remembering Mollie Weeks
By Barbara Siepker
Sun contributor
Former business owner, social worker, community activist and nature lover Mollie Weeks passed away last month at age 78. Weeks, who is survived by her husband, political syndicated columnist and author George Weeks, left a lasting legacy in Glen Arbor.
Sometimes we only learn of a person’s significant contributions to the community after they have passed away. In Mollie’s case, I was aware of her commitment to and contribution to the community’s reading and literary baseline. She was a founder of the Glen Lake Community Library in addition to founding The Cottage Book Shop in 1985 as a used bookstore in a cottage behind the now Glen Arbor Bed & Breakfast.
As she expanded to include new books, she moved into the space between Ken Scott and Ruth Conklin where she became close friends with them. I learned of her desire to sell her shop 10 years later during our weekly hiking/snowshoeing group and became obsessed with the desire to pour myself into such a venture. Mollie contributed to the ease of the transition, consulting generously to assure my success, and amazed me with her love and extensive knowledge of books, especially loving mysteries and thrillers.
Where I could not imagine running a bookstore without a computer and online ordering, Mollie did not have a cash register and hand wrote receipts and called in lengthy book orders. She will be remembered fondly for her contributions to everyone’s reading life, her love of experiencing nurture in her backyard, and for her fun, smiling personality and humor.
“Mollie had this incredible love for nature that I just can’t express enough,” long-time friend Grace Dickinson told the Traverse City Record-Eagle. “Our interests really brought us together because we shared so much.” Dickinson met Mollie nearly 30 years ago through their families’ mutual interest in journalism. Dickinson’s parents Fred and Julia owned the Leelanau Enterprise newspaper in the 1940s, and she and her father provided photography for books written by Mollie’s husband, George.
