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Florist in focus: Watertown Flowers, Inc. of Watertown, South Dakota

by Jacqueline

March 26, 2008

For the Majusiak clan, flowers are the stuff of family bonds.

Olga Majusiak, 87, still works every day at Watertown Flowers, Inc. watertownflowers.com, the store she and her husband Joe founded in 1954. Three of her ten children work with her.

Olga and Joe weren’t new to the business even then. Olga’s resume stretches back to age 16 – with a flower-shop job in the Pocono Mountain area of Pennsylvania. Joe, then a greenhouse worker, delivered flowers to the store.

A courtship, marriage and five children later, the Majusiaks headed west to South Dakota, where Joe’s brother, a priest, had his parish. At first, Olga couldn’t help but wonder if they’d made a mistake. Their house had no running water and no central heat. She had her hands full with the kids.

On the plus side, there was opportunity – a chance to be more than employees, a chance to run their own shop and shape their own path. Over the years, they built their business and added five more children to their family.

Florists

“We all grew up in the back of a flower shop,” says Marie Majusiak, the eldest girl and second-born child (pictured above with Olga). “We swept the floor, made corsage boxes, watered plants. We had a crib made out of flower boxes, padded with blankets. We’re an extremely close family because of that.”

The early years were tough for her parents, says Marie, adding that it wasn’t uncommon to sell one rose all day long.

Yellow Rose
But, with memories of the Great Depression and World War II still fresh in their minds, Olga and Joe were grateful for what they had.

Today, Marie and her mother are co-owners of the store. One of Marie’s brothers does maintenance; a sister keeps the books. Joe, whose friends called him “Flower Pot,” died in 1979.

The store’s volume has seen huge spikes since the days of the single roses. In some ways, though, the business hasn’t changed all that much. “We are a flower shop. We sell flowers and plants,” says Marie.

That tight a focus is unusual at a time when many florists are selling a wide range of gifts or other goods in addition to flowers.

Finding their niche as well as staying on top of trends and cutting-edge technology has ensured their success. That and their lengthy history.

We know so many people,” says Marie of Watertown, whose population she estimates at 25,000.

“And we know them personally. We’ll get a call and they’ll say, ‘It’s Mary’s birthday, can you send her something?’ We know what to send, we know the address, we know how to sign the card.”

Though at one point Marie considered becoming a lawyer, now she says it’s hard to conceive doing something other than selling flowers.

“It’s a great business,” she says.

In an upcoming post, Marie shares day-to-day challenges and rewards of her job.

Flower Fact of the Day: Gwen Stauffer, formerly of the New England Wild Flower Society, newfs.org will become executive director of Ganna Walska Lotusland lotusland.org in Santa Barbara, Calif.
 


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Comments


Jeff Lanman
Jeff Lanman | Reply
March 26, 2008

I remember sleeping in big flower boxes in the back room of the flower shop and using the cloth wedding aisle runners from the weekend's weddings to pad the box.  It was just part of growing up if your family owned a flower shop.  I still remember my youngest sister sleeping in the file drawer of my mother's desk as a newborn - seemed like a perfect crib to us!  It made for a close knit family experience and you had the benefit of being surrounded by beautiful flowers all the time.

I wouldn't trade my experience of growing up in the family flower shop for anything and best yet- I still work in the flower industry.


Daniel Uribe
Daniel Uribe | Reply
April 11, 2008

Florist like you are the heart and soul of the Flower Industry.  
As a Grower, Importer & Distributor of fresh cut Tropical and Novelty flowers in Miami, FL ; I have seen many changes in the Industry and will probably continue to do so.  However, the hope remains that Florists like you will continue to thrive.
Thanks for the Good Read!

Daniel Uribe
Costa Tropicals & Flowers, Inc.
1.800.267.8204

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