Writer, reporter and bookseller Shirley Haas, whose Her Fiery Clock Face bookstore in Andersonville, Ill., "was a gathering spot for bibliophiles," died January 19, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. She was 97.
"Shirley was a vibrant and colorful personality and a gifted Chicago reporter from the heyday of Chicago journalism with great stories to tell," said author Richard Lindberg. "She never slowed down, she loved books and the company of authors, and her Fiery Clock Face bookstore in Andersonville was a gathering spot for bibliophiles. Shirley's annual New Year's Eve party was an 'A-list' event and a rollicking good time for all of us who valued her friendship and her tremendous esprit de corps."
After graduating from the University of Chicago, she covered crime, police and the courts for the City News Bureau of Chicago before moving to the Chicago Tribune. In the late 1950s, she married Joseph Haas, a reporter and book editor for the Chicago Daily News; and by the 1960s, she was writing a weekly children's book column that ran in the Daily News' Panorama section under her maiden name Shirley Lowry. She also was an editor for Rand McNally when the company had a textbook division and published books for children.
In 1987, Haas co-founded the Fiery Clock Face at 5311 N. Clark St., which was open until 1995. The shop got its name from a traditional Celtic fiddle tune that was a family favorite.
"I fondly remember the bookstore she owned with her sister," said Robert Remer, publisher and editor-in-chief of the former Chicago Books in Review and a former Chicago Public Library deputy commissioner. "I was a Saturday morning regular. She and her sister collected a lot of books on Chicago history, and they always had unique bookends and book-themed knickknacks for sale. They helped boost my interest in Chicago literature, which eventually led to Chicago Books in Review."
Haas was a longtime member of the Society of Midland Authors, and in 1995 the organization awarded her its Lifetime Achievement Award.
"Shirley brought not only her experience as a great children's writer to the Midland Authors but her years as a book editor as well," said author Jim Schwab, a former Midland Authors president. "This combination provided her with both interesting insights into the authors' world and a wealth of anecdotes and inside wisdom."