Cover Story: Wedel’s at 75

STILL BLOOMING BRIGHTLY, WEDEL’S

CELEBRATES 75 YEARS

By Dave Person david.r.person@gmail.com

Harley Wedel had a dream; he also had the determination to see it through. It didn’t hurt that the founder of what is now Wedel’s Nursery, Florist and Garden Center on the corner of Milham Avenue and 12th Street in Texas Township had three sons to help him make his vision a reality. As a result, what Wedel started in 1946 as a Westnedge Hill neighborhood produce stand is continuing 75 years later under the direction of Wedel’s youngest and sole surviving son, Roger, along with several of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But they don’t do it because it’s the family business and they are expected to fall in line; they love what they do, they say, so much so that they don’t stop doing it at the end of their work day. “We like to garden and we’ve tried these things ourselves,” says Terrie Schwartz, a granddaughter of Harley Wedel and current vice president and marketing director of Wedel’s, speaking about the gardening expertise that they and other Wedel’s employees provide to their customers.

The garden center has come a long way from Harley Wedel’s produce stand, where he sold what he grew on the farm he owned on Angling Road. Eventually, he also began planting evergreens, trees and shrubs, which he took to the produce stand to sell. A need for more space resulted in a move south to the corner of Westnedge

and Milham avenues in 1969, and then to 25 acres purchased by the family at the current location in 2001.

Harley Wedel died in 1998, three years before the move to Texas Township, but he was instrumental in development of the new store, which boasts a fl oral department, annuals, perennials, a nursery area, garden and water displays and bulk landscape supplies, including a collection of rocks and stones.

“A destination is what Harley wanted, a place where mom could go shopping and dad and the kids could get lost (in the displays), or skip stones in the pond,” says Andy Wedel, another thirdgeneration family member. “We’re all thankful to Harley for having

this vision. He had plans and drawings of this place long before we bought this land.”

The nursery moved from Harley Wedel’s Angling Road farm to its current location on 34th Street in Galesburg in 1972. About 80 percent of the nursery stock sold at the garden center is grown there.

Roger Wedel, 78, and his wife, Sally, grow all of the perennials on another farm in Scotts, and annuals come from local growers. In addition to Roger, who is CEO, Harley’s sons Dick and George devoted themselves to the business. Dick was general manager of the farm until his death in 2008, when he was succeeded by his son, Larry. George was CEO and general manager of the garden center until his death last year. Andy, his son, is currently the general manager. George’s wife, Joyce, started the fl oral department in 1982, and she and her daughter Bonnie Russell ran it until their deaths, also last year. Other grandchildren involved in the business include Schwartz, also a daughter of George and Joyce, and Roger’s daughters, Kay Landrum, in charge of annuals and perennials, and Karen Wedel, the business’ accountant. Fourth generation employees are Andrea Truax and Zach and Caleb Wedel.

With each generation, the parents were responsible for the success of their children. “Our parents did a great job of trusting us,” says Schwartz, 59. “They taught us and then they let us go.” At a young age, the children learned the importance of being helpful and respectful to customers, she adds. To this day, Andy Wedel, 57, says he refers to them as friends, rather than customers, since so many of them return over and over again, not only for purchases, but to enjoy the special events and seminars that Wedel’s offers on a regular basis. The main one, the annual Spring Flower & Garden Expo, features displays designed to leave a lasting impression. “People walk into that room that’s been transformed and their jaws drop,” Schwartz says. “And we’re very kid-friendly here,” she adds, noting that events have included a petting zoo and, new this year, a butterfl y program. Wedel’s employs more than 100 people during growing season, with about 40 of them on staff year-round, many of whom have been on the payroll for several years. They include experts in about every aspect of fl oral arrangements, planting and caring for trees, bushes and fl owers, and landscaping. Andy Wedel is carrying on a family tradition of hosting a weekly radio program on WKZO 590 AM and 106.9 FM called “Over the Garden Fence” in which he offers timely gardening tips and answers listeners’ questions. The program airs at 9 a.m. Saturdays. Now in his 16th year, Andy followed his father, who hosted the program for 42 years, and his grandfather, who did it for seven, making it one of the longest continuously aired programs in the state, if not the country, Andy Wedel says. Schwartz and Andy Wedel credit much of the success of the business to its commitment to Christian principles. “Harley wanted it to be a Christianbased business, and George and Roger made sure that continued,” Andy says. “I think we’ve been blessed because of that,” Schwartz adds.

Facing page, top: Harley Wedel had a love of plants, 1950s. Center: Smiling Wedel’s staff at the Westnedge & Milham store. Bottom: George passing on his love of plants to great-granddaughter, Alaina, 2017. This page, top: Wedel’s at the foot of Westnedge Hill, 1950s. Center: The Wedel’s store at Westnedge & Milham. Bottom: Today’s store in Texas Corners.