A History of Minnesota Floriculture

Highlights of the 1910-1919 decade included hosting the 1913 SAF Convention and Trade Show, and the FTD Convention, concurrently in Minneapolis; the building of the Como Park Conservatory in St. Paul and the enlargement of the Horticulture Building on the St. Paul Campus. This occurred as World War I was being fought in Europe from 1914 to 1918.

New Florists open for Business

A number of new florists opened for business in 1910. Several new business opened in each of the Twin Cities, and others also opened outside the St. Paul and Minneapolis metropolitan area.

In St. Paul, F.W. Topel operated the F.W. Topel Conservatory at 191 East Seventh Street for many years. Albert Zachman's shop and greenhouses were started at 1247 Grand Avenue. The Ratterman Brothers range on Snelling Avenue grew to a fair size before closing in the 1950s. And, the second Minnesota wholesale flower commission house was opened in 1910 by O.R. Eckhardt in downtown St. Paul. Later, sons Robert and Howard owned and operated the business until the late 1960s, when it closed.

In Minneapolis, Mrs. E.H. Mazey from Scotland opened what became known as 'Mazey's Society Florist' in 1910. She added a greenhouse range on France Avenue South. Later her niece Nan Sutherland (also from Scotland) joined her in the business. Mazey took down the greenhouse range of 45,000 square feet in 1935, during a period of labor disturbances. Sutherland closed the shop in 1986.

In 1911, a Mr. Hopper and the Magnuson brothers built the greenhouses and shop of Central Floral Company on Central Avenue and 16th Avenue, N.E., in Minneapolis.

Anderson Floral opened in St. Cloud in 1910, and later became Allison Floral.

Organization Activity Proliferates

An excellent flower show was staged in Minneapolis in 1910 by the Minnesota State Florists' Association. Also in that year, the Florists' Telegraph Delivery Association (FTD) was established as a section of SAF (see Appendix A).

Horticultural societies proliferated in the Twin Cities area in the early years of this century. The Minnesota Rose Society, founded in 1904, became the Minnesota Garden Flower Society in 1911. The Minneapolis Florists' Club was organized in 1911, and had 75 members within two years. The St. Paul Florists' Club was reactivated in 1912 after a period of dormancy. The Minneapolis Ladies Florists' Club was formed in 1912 and continued functioning until 1994.

In all probability, some of the new floral groups formed in this period were a local response to the national SAF convention being planned during that period for Minneapolis in 1913. Theodore Wirth, who was the SAF vice president at the time, was an excellent organizer who, no doubt, sought and promoted a solid cooperative effort from local members of the industry.

Overcoming Obstacles

Most individuals founding floral businesses in this region had to overcome significant adversity. Many overcame the numerous obstacles and went on to became leading business people. Numerous examples can be pointed out.

Max Kaiser came to America from Germany in 1906, worked as a rose grower at Donaldson's Greenhouses and as City Forester for Minneapolis. In 1911, he and a partner purchased August Swanson's Greenhouses in St. Paul, and later Kaiser renamed it Merriam Park Floral Company, Inc. Their first order was to decorate all the office buildings between sixth and seventh Streets on Nicollet Avenue with window and lamppost flower boxes. There were 3,100 feet of window boxes. Unfortunately, Kaiser's business partner collected the money from the downtown merchants, partied and ran off to Chicago with the company's check book. Kaiser survived by laying off all of his employees except foreman Julian Bilski, who worked without pay until the business could be refinanced with the blessing of numerous creditors. The range of greenhouses eventually grew from six to a total of 23, and producing a wide range of floral crops, and included a house of orchids.

Kaiser's second daughter, Maxine, was born in February 1912. On the evening of the birth, with his wife in labor, the doctor was unable to get through snowdrifts during a winter storm. A family friend and amateur midwife delivered the baby. Shortly before the birth, the greenhouse heating plant's main return pipe from the greenhouse burst, shooting a heavy stream of hot water into the boiler room. Max was forced to replace the pipe within two hours to keep the plants from freezing. Baby, mother and plants survived. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Maxine worked in the business for a number of years.

Heman Gibbs came to Minnesota in 1849 via steam boat, and homesteaded on Larpenteur Avenue in St. Paul. He built a partially below ground sod hut in which he and his wife lived for five years while he farmed. A new home was built once he could afford it. His son Frank Gibbs founded Gibbs Florist in 1912, on family land adjacent to the St. Paul Campus. A series of greenhouses were erected in subsequent years.

Later, School of Agriculture student George Nelson married fellow student Alice Gibbs, who was Heman's granddaughter. The firm soon became Gibbs-Nelson Florist and the three Nelson sons, Gordon, Donald and Earl, worked in the business. The University of Minnesota bought their greenhouse range, which was surrounded by University land, in 1960. After the sale, Gordon worked at the Como Conservatory, Donald became a sales representative of florist products and Earl left floriculture. The Department of Horticulture still uses one of the Gibbs-Nelson greenhouses, with the remainder used by other university departments.

Another flower show for the public, held in St. Paul in 1912, was a success.

Society of American Florists

This group picture of some of the people attending the Society of American Florists national Convention, held in Minneapolis in 1913, was taken in front of the Minneapolis Armory, where the convention was held. Note how additional attendees were backed up into the doorway of the Armory. (Photo courtesy Paul Olson, Minneapolis Floral Company)

In 1913, from August 19-23, Minnesota hosted the national SAF Convention and Trade Show. The fourth annual FTD Convention was held in the Twin Cities at the same time, with the two organizations' memberships overlapping. The various sessions of the two meetings were held in the National Guard Armory in Minneapolis, and on some open park land flanking the Armory on Lyndale Avenue at Kenwood Parkway.

Minneapolis had 325,000 residents and St. Paul had 235,000 in 1913. Theodore Wirth took advantage of the presence of the joint SAF/FTD conferences to support the area's population with an activity designed to counter Minnesota's icebox reputation. This was a special display garden, planted to "demonstrate to the out-of-state visitors that the Minnesota climate is not so adverse to successful achievements in floriculture as some people from other parts of the country are inclined to believe." Growers from all over the country were invited to send new bulbs, seeds and plants to the Twin Cities to be grown for exhibition purposes. Contributing growers paid for the growing space, and Minneapolis Park Board employees planted and cared for the exhibits.

The growing season was exceptionally favorable for the plants in the demonstration garden, and conference attendees were quite impressed. Having such a garden at the convention, a garden which included many new cultivars, was a new concept and was very popular with the industry and the public. Exhibitors expressed their desire to continue this activity in future years, but it was discontinued for economic reasons.

Although attendance was a bit lower than anticipated, a solid program plus many activities and excellent florist cooperation provided the visitors with the excellent impression of Minnesota that Wirth aimed to present. Some of those attending were involuntarily 'baptized' when the dock on which they were standing while watching water activities collapsed into Lake Minnetonka. The display garden became a regular park garden and is now the site of the Sculpture Garden.

Wirth became SAF President the following year. He was the only Minnesotan up to 1995 to have served in that position. His son, Theodore Wirth II, married O.J. Olson's (of Holm and Olson) daughter Helen.

Trade Journals

A review of clippings in scrapbooks maintained by the elder Theodore Wirth shows that a large number of magazines and journals of value and interest to florists were already in existence at the time. These included The American Florist, and The Florists' Review, Chicago; The Florists' Exchange, New York; The Florists' Trade Journal, Chicago and New York; Horticulture, Boston; The Minnesota Horticulturist, St. Paul; and The Gardeners Chronicle of America.

The number of journals addressed to practitioners in the floriculture industry were a clear indication that the early florists were eager to learn and advance in their profession. A gauge of the public's interest in flowers at this time was seen in the many candy and grocery stores that sold flowers.

More Greenhouses

Greenhouse flower production of Cashman Greenhouses, in Owatonna, began around 1910. Cashman Greenhouses operated a 100,000 square foot range, producing cut flowers in 1913. Bob, a second generation Cashman operated the retail, wholesale and growing business next. After he died, his son, also named Bob, a floricultural and business graduate of the University of Minnesota, ran the business from 1978 to 1986 when the land was sold for development. He is now a sales representative for a national seed, plant and supply firm.

The 'Fred' Busch Greenhouses were moved from Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis to Golden Valley in 1915 and became Busch Brothers, under the operation of sons Fred, Bernard and Bill. They continued to grow vegetables until after the elder Fred's death in 1927. A gradual conversion to flowers was made, and the firm specialized in carnations for many years. Quality pot plants were produced later. They custom built a series of galvanized steel greenhouses in the 1940s and 1950s. The third generation Fred served as President of the American Carnation Society and chaired the committee which hosted their 1957 international convention, which was held in Minneapolis. Other family members who worked in the greenhouses in later years included Bill's sons, Bob and Leonard, plus third generation Fred's sons, Carl and Fred.

Start of Largest Floral Business

After he arrived from Germany in the late 1800s, Henry Bachman worked for the first Fred Busch, who was his mother's brother, and for a Minneapolis produce commission house. Bachman and his wife Hattie went into the truck crop business in South Minneapolis in 1885. In 1889, he built 10 greenhouses, but no flowers were grown until 1914. Henry had five sons, Fred, Walter, Arthur, Henry, Jr. and Albert.

It was Albert Bachman who, because of his interest in flowers, planted carnations and sold them at Oak Hill Cemetery. A carnation house was finally built in 1924 for $10,000. As the vegetable market was declining with southern farmers shipping their produce north, Albert demostrated that an armload of carnations actually could earn more than a truckload of vegetables. Flowers gradually replaced vegetables in the greenhouses.

The first Bachman's retail store was opened in 1927. Later, an unusual attraction, an alligator donated by a customer, lived in a safely fenced pool in the attached conservatory for 20 years. In the 1930s, Albert selected a purple paper color for wrapping plants and flowers which became the symbolic color, a 'Bachman purple,' for the firm's operation. It extended even to the color of their delivery trucks. Also in that decade, a nursery branch was started.

Bachman's first Edina branch store opened in 1941, and a new store replaced it in 1947. The company introduced large coolers for retail store displays of pre-made floral arrangements. They also introduced the delivery of arranged bouquets to hospitals in vases. In 1948, the firm acquired Woodend Farms on the shore of Lake Minnetonka and operated the range of nine greenhouses. By 1949, the third generation of the family took over managing the firm.

More Greenhouses

Alex Anderson moved to Alexandria in 1915 and built a home. Next, he built the flower shop and the two 14 x 50 foot greenhouses seen here. (Photo courtesy Lorraine Anderson)

In 1915, three of John W. Vasatka's sons started Vasatka Brothers by building greenhouses at 4321 Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis. Edward later bought out his brothers, Otto and Julius, and changed the firm name to Chicago Avenue Floral. Only floral products were grown from the start. As more greenhouses were erected, the firm extended to 4351 Chicago Avenue. Edward's sons Donald and Calvin (Bud) operated the business from the late 1940s. The greenhouses were taken down in 1965. Donald and his son Donald currently operate the Chicago Floral Company retail shop at 4351 Chicago Avenue.

Alex Anderson moved from Deerwood to Alexandria and bought ten acres of land in 1915. Flower growing had been his hobby. He immediately built a house, and soon thereafter, a store and two 14 x 50 foot greenhouses. The business grew steadily and there were five larger greenhouses when son Ardyce and wife Lorraine bought the business in 1950. There were ten greenhouses when the firm was sold in 1990 to Dave and Jan Pederson.

John Robert Johnson, a native of Sweden, worked for a member of the Cargill family and for Minneapolis Floral. In 1916, he built Johnson Greenhouses on Edward Street in St. Anthony Village, where land was relatively low priced. In the 1940s, the firm specialized in cut carnations, and later added a wide selection of green plants. John Richard, John Robert's son, took over the business after World War II. A wholesale commission house, Johnson's Wholesale Florist, was started in 1958. Supplies for growers and retailers were added to their product line within a few years. The company name became J.R. Johnson Supply, Inc.

In 1916, Edward Schuster started Schuster's Nursery and Flower Shop in Crookston. Ernest Zitzer began working in the greenhouses there in the late 1920s, and purchased the business when Schuster died in 1936. Zitzer's Nursery and Floral expanded to 11 greenhouses and produced a wide array of cut flowers, pot plants and bedding plants, as well as all types of perennials and nursery stock in the fields. Crops were sold at wholesale and retail. Funeral flowers were sold on a commission basis all over northwestern Minnesota. Dale Wreisner operated the business from 1960 to 1962. The greenhouses were then closed and the land sold for development. Bill Montague purchased the downtown flower shop in 1966 and continues in business in 1995. Currently there are also two other flower shops and a small greenhouse in Crookston.

The influenza epidemic during World War I stimulated the demand for flowers, and greenhouse construction increased after the conflict.

University Activity

School of Agriculture summer school students at Henry Bachman's farm in 1912 where they grew vegetables. (Photo from glass negative, courtesy Richard Wenkel, University of Minnesota)

In 1910, a fourth floor and an east wing were added to the original Horticulture building on the St. Paul Campus. Building occupants were the Divisions of Horticulture and of Agricultural Education, plus the Minnesota Horticultural Society. This shared facility arrangement continued until 1970 when Horticulture and the Minnesota Horticultural Society moved to a new building. The old building was then renovated and occupied by part of what was then called the College of Home Economics. Also, in 1910, K.A. Kirkpartick was hired as the first full-time agricultural extension horticulturist (1910-1923). Others that followed included R.S. Mackintosh until 1940, E.M. Hunt until he became executive secretary of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society in 1945, and L.C. Snyder until 1953. Thereafter, horticultural staff appointments increased.

LeRoy Cady was Acting Chairman of the University's Division of Horticulture after Professor Green died in 1910. Cady also taught floriculture and ornamental horticulture classes, and wrote a column for florists in the Minnesota Horticulturist. LeRoy Cady died prematurely at the age of 44 while preparing a State Fair floral exhibit in 1923. After Cady, the Division operated under a rotating chairmanship for a number of years.

Professor W.H. Alderman took over leadership of the Division of Horticulture in 1919 and developed an emphasis on plant breeding in the 1920s. The Horticultural faculty increased from 9 to 14 during his 34 years of leadership.

Como Conservatory

The St. Paul Board of Park Commissioners provided $50 in 1913 to develop a set of plans for a conservatory being considered for Como Park. A year later, a major bond issue was approved by city residents for park improvements, including the Como Conservatory. The English Victorian styled structure was completed in 1915 at a cost of $58,825. The structure has regularly drawn about one million visitors each year.

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