Page 32 - Flathead Beacon // 2.10.16

BUSINESS IS PERSONAL 33 TRANSACTIONS 33 Business
Traditions and Family in Full Bloom
After decades, Woodland Floral enjoys continued, ourishing business in the modern age
PBY MOLLY PRIDDY OF THE BEACON
lenty has changed since 1908.
For example, you could be reading this on your
smartphone or computer, but that was the year the rst long-distance radio message was sent, emanat- ing from the Ei el Tower.
Teddy Roosevelt sat in the White House, Oklahoma’s star was added to the ag, and William Durant founded the company that would eventually become General Motors.
It was also the year that greenhouses were built on what were then the outskirts of Kalispell. A ower shop was added in 1934, and Woodland Floral has occupied the space on Sixth Avenue East ever since.
But for Fay and Wes Wolf, who bought the shop from the original owner’s granddaughter in 1979, it’s what hasn’t changed in the last 108 years that matters.
“The reasons for owers haven’t changed all that much,” Fay Wolf said. “It’s a business that is very enjoy- able because we bring the joy of owers into someone’s life.”
Fay, whose favorite ower is the spicy-scented stock ower, is the matriarch of what has become a family o- ral business, having sold it to her youngest daughter, Penny Kiger, in 2007. Penny’s daughters, Taylor and Jor- dan Kiger, also work in the shop.
The family has been selling oral arrangements long enough to have prepared the owers for weddings, then for the rst babies resulting from those weddings, and then for the weddings resulting from those same babies growing up.
And last week, the week before Valentine’s Day, proved a busy one for the shop. The phone rang with consistency, owers and cards were arranged quickly and expertly, and Troubadour, the oral shop’s resident canine, sought scratches from customers.
It is, for all intents and purposes, a family business. When Jordan and Taylor were each born, they were placed in boxes lled with soft, pleasant greenery. Penny and Fay remember customers walking in to the back o ce, picking up whichever baby was there, and only then going back their shopping in the store.
From left: Penny Kiger, Jordan Kiger, Fay Wolf, Taylor Kiger and her dog Troubadour. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
“It’s a good, wholesome atmosphere to raise a fam- ily,” Fay said.
Fay has stayed on working at the store despite not owning it; she said retirement might not suit her very well, and she enjoys the lively environment there. Hav- ing been in the business for nearly 40 years, the heart of it may be the same, but there are some changes.
For instance, e-business is a huge part of their cus- tomer base. And with so many online stores selling ow- ers, Woodland Floral has managed to keep its spot with customers because of the personal service.
If an Internet order doesn’t ship properly, or is
incorrect, the customer may have to deal with it through an online form or digital customer service, Fay noted. But all they have to do at Woodland Floral is call and speak to a human being to get the matter cleared up.
“We do a lot of online business,” Fay said.
As the current owner, Penny – favorite ower: sun- ower – has considerable experience in the oral world. She went to the University of Montana, worked in Port- land, and had a job in the wholesale oral business in Spokane before coming back to take over the shop.
She’s the fastest in the store when it comes to putting arrangements together, a considerable skill for when
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