April 24th saw the Twin Cities literary community come together to morn long-time bookseller Gary Shulze. Shulze and his wife, Pat Frovarp, had co-owned Once Upon a Crime in Minneapolis, MN, for the past fourteen years. They worked to make Once Upon a Crime the hub of the Minneapolis mystery community. Readers and authors took to the Minneapolis institution not only because of its vast inventory of new and out-of-print books, but because of the welcoming nature of Shulze and Frovarp. Shulze had been fighting leukemia since 2007, and the disease had returned in 2014.
Circling the block on a rain soaked Sunday as we looked for a place to park, it wasn’t surprising to see the line of well-wishers extend out the front door and up the stairs to the sidewalk out front of the basement level shop. The event was set up as an informal open house. Guests were encouraged to leave memories and anecdotes in guest books.
Many thanks to the new Once Upon a Crime owners and staff Dennis Abraham, Meg King-Abraham, Devin Abraham and Jessie Chandler for opening their doors to the community, so the community to come together to remember Gary Shulze.
Dan and Kate Malmon
