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A newsletter by harkins, the florist
Administrative Professionals’ Week:
It’s that time of year, folks. April 19 – 23 is the time for expressing appreciation to those who make your work life easier. We have many appropriate floral gifts this year. The new arrangements in cube container are especially good for a desk. Dutch tulips are another good choice as they will be out of season soon.
Check out our website, www.harkinsneworleans.com and click on Adm Prof Week for some visuals.
Back in the Beginning…
In earlier newsletters, the first few years when Jawn was a one-man-band were recalled. This month the focus will be the first full-time employee back in the early 1980s, Mary Helen Michals.
During that time at harkins, the florist, only the resolute would come to the 1300 block of Magazine let alone come inside the decrepit, “London After the War” building at 1359. A notable exception was the faculty of Andrew Jackson School in the next block. A devoted group of “old school” teachers held forth there, and soon became the florist’s friends. Some have stayed in touch over the years.
Most dedicated of all seemed to be Vivien Michals, who worked with the profoundly challenged special ed students. The flower shop became the destination for field trips for these kids. Those who knew her and her wonderful way with both these children and everyone else around her aptly referred to her as our own “Mother Teresa.”
So in conversation it developed that Jawn was looking for a first, full-time employee, a “shop girl,” and Viv made the wonderful match of sending over her daughter, Mary Helen, a recent graduate of Loyola. All involved decided it would be a great place for her to hang out for a while as she decided what the next phase of her life would be.
This was a very literate, hip phase of harkins, the florist. (Stay tuned next month for the story of “The Cat Lady.”) Mary Helen brought real class to the shop. Imagine the shop cat getting the name Grendel from Beowulf. Sophisticated music shared time with Jawn’s Jimmy Buffett tunes.
Mary Helen seemed to enjoy life as the shop girl and became an accomplished floral designer. She had a winning way with people, her soft, almost little girl voice could win over even the most gruff customer. She took an apartment in the Lower Garden District and had the grand achievement of becoming a member of Komenka, a folk dance group still active today.
The end of Mary Helen’s stay coincided with the move to 1601 Magazine. She said it seemed a proper time to move on, not being especially comfortable with the fancy new digs. She relocated to Boston where she took a master’s in Library Science. She married a fellow librarian and lives in El Paso, TX.
To borrow a phrase from a song circa 1970, “Those were the days…”
Great Breakthrough for Prom Season:
We’ve shared with you many times in the past year our excitement about the cube arrangements, the first new design idea in decades. Now we have more great news just as we enter prom season. Check out the picture above to see the new line of bracelets we offer for wrist corsages. We also have stylish lapel clips to make boutonnieres special as well.
Our customers will be delighted that there are now so many new flower choices available. And, thanks to a new glue technique, our designers are happy they entail much less labor. Note at the top of the picture some sample corsages and bouts.
Care and handling of.....
Dendrobium Orchids
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