by Holly Allen
Meriden’s Susan Welborn is feeling the love this holiday season. Last week, the Flowers & Things owner was named the first-ever grand marshal of the town’s annual Christmas parade by the Meriden-Ozawkie Chamber of Commerce.
“I thought, ‘are you serious?’” Welborn exclaimed. “But it’s an honor to have such love and support here.”
Though the Chamber only recently made the announcement that Welborn was to hold the place of honor in leading the parade Dec. 1, it actually chose her for the honor weeks ago.
“Susan is a staple in our community, especially downtown. Her family has owned a business in Meriden for years and she has been around to volunteer or help the community any way she could. She’s impacted the memories of many locals with her beautiful floral pieces for weddings, celebrations of life, and proms. We’re thankful to have her here!” said Jessica Schenkel, Chamber secretary.
On any given day you can find Welborn in her flower shop downtown. The old building at 109 E. Main Street has belonged to her family since 1963, when her parents, Helen and Harry Mangold, purchased the old hardware store. Her father had suffered a heart attack and the family was looking for a way to get him off the farm.
Mangold Hardware became a staple downtown, operated by Harry until his death in 1971, then Helen with her daughter’s help and company. In 1984, Welborn started Flowers & Things in a corner of the hardware store, and mother and daughter worked together, side by side, until Helen’s death in 2004. With her went the hardware store aspect of the building, but Welborn’s flower shop remained.
For 40 years, her arrangements have been part of the everyday lives and special occasions of the residents of small-town Meriden.
A recent Friday found her arranging a bouquet of 27 red roses for an anniversary — one for each year.
“Every year the couple is married, we add a rose,” Welborn explains with a smile.
On another table, a regular weekly standing order for a local widower.
“Every Friday I make his late wife a bouquet and he lays it on her grave,” she imparts.
As the local florist, Welborn’s creations have touched the lives of locals for four decades. So, too, have her kindness and compassion. Her shop is a frequent stop for those hoping for a chat — and she looks forward to her frequent visitors and their conversations.
In recent years, her family’s 100-plus-year-old downtown building has been in need of repairs. Three years ago, she paid to have the roof repaired.
However, shortly after the repairs were complete, the roof began leaking. As it turns out, the work had not been done properly. Despite patchwork efforts to correct the issue, it just kept getting worse. A few weeks ago, the recent rains became too much, overcoming the structure. Water had to be bucketed out by community volunteers. Gaps in the deteriorating roof led to a large amount of mold accumulating on the sheetrock and shelves.
Overwhelmed, Welborn was at a loss for what to do. The repairs were looking like more than she could handle, and this building, her job, and the community were her whole life.
“This place gives me something to get up and going for each day,” Welborn said. “What was I going to do without it?”
And then, the locals stepped in to care for one of their own.
“The gals at the dog groomers next door started looking into grant opportunities for my building. A Go-Fund-Me was set up online and at the bank. People I’ve known but haven’t seen for years have reached out to donate. People whose weddings I’ve made flowers for. It’s like the whole town has adopted me,” Welborn said. “It’s been overwhelming, the outpouring of love and support that’s come my way from this.”
Thousands of dollars have been raised. Volunteers have spent dozens of hours removing items from the store, taking down moldy shelves and sheetrock.
Chuck’s Heating and Cooling ran a raffle for a new furnace and air conditioning unit. Many of the locals signed up in Welborn’s name. She won, and in the days to come, her store will once again have heat and something it’s never had — air conditioning.
“I never could have dreamed of this response,” said Welborn, who hopes to keep her shop up and running for years to come. “I was looking for an answer and it came from my own community. I can never express how thankful I am to live here and just what all this means to me.”
Flowers & Things is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The business can be reached by phone at (785) 484-2663.
Donations toward the repair of Welborn’s historic downtown building can be made at Denison State Bank, or online at https://gofund.me/23ee6bcb.
