7 minute read
CELEBRATING THIS SEASON
Jerri Brouse/For Inside PA
SUSIE GEARHART OF THE BLOOMING ROOSTER IN MILTON BEGINS AN ARRANGEMENT.
Advertisement
NeedaCivilEngineer orLandSurveyor?
OurstaffisPassionateabout Educatingourclients.Wewanttohelpyou makeinformeddecisionsaboutyourProject. Whatdoyouneedtoknow?
Meck-Tech,Inc.isafamily-ownedcompany.Weprovide engineering,drainage,landdevelopment,andsubdivision designforresidential,commercial,industrialandmunicipal clients. Surveyingservicesinclude:boundary,topographic, andALTAsurveys;constructionstakeout,as-builtsand (flood)elevationcertificatestoo. Callustoday.
YEARS50
MECK-TECH INCORPORATED
ProfessionalEngineersand LandSurveyorssince1971
in the flower business, but Adams-Brouse treasures the feedback from her customers.
“People call and say, ‘I got your bouquet. It’s beautiful,’” she said. “Or they say the recipient of the flowers they bought really liked them.”
THE BLOOMING ROOSTER 30 ELM ST, MILTON THEBLOOMINGROOSTER.COM — 570-331-8793
Susie Gearhart didn’t always want to be in the floral business. In fact, after spending much of her early years helping out at her mother’s flower shop, A. B. Blossoms, in Margate, N.J., scrubbing buckets and cutting chicken wire, she didn’t want anything to do with flowers for a long time. It wasn’t until her daughter, who lives in Milton, needed help getting through her final semester of college that Gearhart decided it was time to get back into the world of flowers and plants. She quit her job and started a small business working out of her daughter’s basement while she also helped raise her grandchildren.
At first Gearhart just did weddings and events under the name A. B. Blossoms, Too. Then, a few years ago, she opened her shop. The name is a twist on a nickname she had as a child due to her long, flaming red hair. Since returning to life as a florist, business is, well, blooming. While weddings keep Gearhart busy year round and the holiday season keeps her on her toes, the busiest
times of the year are Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. “People like to pick things out face to face,” she said. Unless, of course, they aren’t able to. In those cases, online ordering is also available on her website. Gearhart herself enjoys meeting her customers in person and learning more about them in order to make their order just right. “I always try to talk about interests and hobbies of the person the arrangement is for,” she explained. “So I can design a piece just for that person.” “Hearing someone say ‘Oh my gosh, it’s beautiful,’ is the best feeling,” she said.
RINE’S FLORIST AND PRETTY LEAF GREENHOUSES 317 EAST BOROUGH ST, ISLE OF QUE, SELINSGROVE RINESFLORIST.COM — 570-374-1953
Ed Auman, owner of Rine’s Florist, was a child, when he helped his great-grandmother, Esther Prettyleaf Brouse, arrange fresh flowers in soup cans to sell to customers. His greenhouse is named in memory of her.
Auman worked at Haddon’s Flowers and Greenhouse in high school and where he was encouraged to attend Hixon’s School of Floral Design in Ohio. As an 18 year-old, he was applauded and encouraged by the older students in his class.
When he was offered a job in Akron, Ohio, he entered the flower business and never looked back. Eventually, he accepted a position as a florist in Lewisburg. Then, George NottinghamVillageCountryHomesor NottinghamVillageApartmentStyle RetirementCenterLiving. THECHOICEISYOURS!
Enjoylifeinoursafe,secure,Oasisinthe countrysideofCentralPennsylvania. TheRetirementCenteroffers11differentstyles of apartments to suit your needs. In the RetirementCenter,wefeaturetheabilityto providebothIndependentLivingandPersonal Care.OurabilitytoofferPersonalCare,with carecustomizedandspecifictoeachresident’s individualneeds,allowsforourresidentsto stayintheirapartment,evenastheirneeds maychange. OurCountryHomesareavailablewith1,2,or3 bedrooms,andallwithenclosedattached garages.Newlyrenovatedhomesblendinto ourpeacefulcountrysetting,surroundedby nature,butclosetoeverything. Withlow monthlyfeesandmaintenancefreeliving, comeenjoytheCountryHomeLifestyleat NottinghamVillage.
58NeitzRoad,Northumberland•NotthinghamVillage.org CallAlSeidelat570-473-8366toviewourretirement apartmentsandcountryhomes.
Cindy O. Herman/For Inside PA
THESE EVER-POPULAR RED ROSES HAVE PETALS THAT FORM A HEART. ED AUMAN AT RINE’S FLOWER SHOP IN SELINSGROVE SAID THEY’RE PERFECT FOR VALENTINE’S DAY.
and Betty Rine told him they wanted to retire and asked if he would take over their business on the Isle of Que. That was in 1995.
For Valentine’s Day, flower orders begin as early as Dec. 28. Like every other business, Rine’s must account for supply chain issues, especially when considering that flowers are not the kind of product that can sit on a shelf waiting to be used.
Auman observed, it’s tough to say how red roses became the go-to flower for Valentine’s Day, but the color itself has to have something to do with it.
“Red roses are the No. 1 seller for Valentine’s Day. It’s called the flower of love.”
“Twenty-five years ago we sold a lot of boxed roses,” he said, but today, “Everybody loves clear glass arrangements. It’s more of a presentation.”
“I think red is synonymous with Valentine’s Day,” Auman said, pointing to red hearts, decorations and candy boxes.
Rine’s Florist has been a mainstay in Snyder County for 107 years.
For a complete listing of all of the floral shops in the Valley, please visit dailyitem.com
Where the day comes from
Across the U.S. and in countries around the world, St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated on Feb. 14. Roses, candy, special dinners and lots of cards will be shared with affection. But, how, when and where did this holiday begin?
THE LIKELY BEGINNING
In ancient days, Februa was a Roman cleansing ritual. It was also — probably — the very beginning of what we now know as Valentine's Day. Februalia, a month-long cleansing festival became part of Lupercalia, a pagan festival meant to guarantee fertility and bounty for the following year, according to history.com.
Lupercalia (Latin for wolf) had two parts. The first is the legend of the orphans, Romulus and Remus, who were raised by a she-wolf in a cave overlooking the land that would become Rome.
Young men began the Lupercalla Festival Run at that cave. They carried strips of blood-soaked goats and dogs that had been sacrificed to the god Lupercus, the Roman god of agriculture and shepherds. Then, the young men would run through the streets carrying those strips of the sacrificed animals. If you were a young woman who was struck with one of those "romantic" tokens, it was believed you would be guaranteed the birth of a healthy child in the new year. The runners would also target crops and fields with the hides to ensure good crops in the season ahead.
THE BEGINNING WE LEARN
It is possible, that in an effort to Christianize the celebration of Lupercalia, the church seized upon the celebration of a saint as a preferable origin of the day.
From the third century through the 19th century, there were at least 10 to 12 saints named Valentine. Some of them were martyrs to their faith, but no one can definitively identify which St. Valentine gave the day its name.
According to britannica.com, there were several Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day may have taken its name from a priest who was martyred about 240 AD by the emperor Claudius II. According to legend, the priest signed a letter to his jailer's daughter, 'from your Valentine.'" Some accounts say he had befriended her and healed her from blindness — one of the reasons he was declared a saint. Other accounts say it was St. Valentine of Terni, a bishop, for whom the holiday was named, though it is possible the two saints were actually the same person. Another legend states that one of the St. Valentines defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from war.
THE TRADITION GREW
Formal messages of love appeared in the 1500s, and by the late 1700s commercially printed cards were sent. "The first commercial valentines in the U.S. were printed in the mid-1800s. Valentines commonly depict Cupid, the Roman god of love, along with hearts, traditionally the seat of emotion. Because it was thought that the avian mating season begins in mid-February, birds also became a symbol of the day. Traditional gifts include candy and flowers, particularly red roses, a symbol of beauty and love," according to britannica.com.
FLOWERS IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER
Candy is a relatively easy gift to buy in the middle of February — whether you make your own or buy a heart-shaped box filled with chocolates from one of the talented candy-makers in the Valley, candy is always a thoughtful gift. And, Valentine cards are plentiful and easy to locate and purchase.
People with a proverbial green thumb can grow plants that flower in winter, but many of us aren't that talented. In winter, flowers can be grown in a greenhouse. More than a hundred years ago, trains transported masses of flowers to cities where they were offered for sale as a token of affection on Valentine's Day.
Today floral designers source flowers from across the United States, Canada, Holland and South America.
Local floral designers can be counted on for flowers for many occasions, but Valentine's Day is one of their busiest times of the year.
— Jean Knouse/Inside PA
