Hello, everybody! I simply can’t believe it is February already…how time flies. We have been extremely busy transforming the shop from the winter wonderland it was, back into a spring garden center that most of us are accustomed to. Today, I was getting prepared to start maintenance on our heating systems for our 15 greenhouses. Traditionally, I would begin this task in the fall by cleaning all the furnaces, checking all the electrical and vents, checking all of the gas lines and maintaining every other little detail to make sure all 25 furnaces were ready to go when needed. The only problem was, although they were in tip-top shape when I finished, sure as heck when I would go to start them up in the spring, a few of them would not work properly. I guess the cold, damp weather in the winter just isn’t good for them! After many years of trial and error, I found the best way to attack this problem is to wait and do all the work a week ahead of when we are planning to fire them up. Well, now it is the time…

It may sound like a lot of work, but compared to the good old days, it’s a piece of cake. Back when I started helping out as a kid, all the greenhouses were heated by coal. We would drive the dump truck over to Canton, Illinois to load up on stoker coal. It would take many loads in that old truck to get enough coal to supply us for the entire winter. We would stockpile the coal outside the greenhouse– and it looked like a mountain to the young kid that I was. Hauling all that coal was the easy part. Every day we had to wheelbarrow enough coal into the greenhouse to last the day and night. If I remember correctly, it took about 12 to 15 wheelbarrows a day to fuel that old hot water boiler. After the coal was inside the greenhouse, the real fun began. During the winter months, the boiler had to be looked after 24-hours a day. We would dump coal in there one shovel at a time. I would say it would take about 20 to 30 scoops of coal to fill the boiler. This wasn’t a small shovel either– it was the biggest grain scoop that I ever saw. The only problem was that this would only last at the most maybe 4 hours, then that coal was burned up… and, it was time to do it all over again. Needless to say, it was a daunting task, just to keep all our plants warm and healthy. Sometimes we would just stay at the greenhouse all night, sleeping on a cot– although, I don’t think we ever really slept for more than a couple of hours at a time. After another full workday, the whole process would begin again. But, before we hauled the next night’s coal into the building, we had to remove all the ashes from the bottom of the boiler. We would haul a load of ash out and a load of coal in… Sounds like fun, right? Looking back, I wonder how we did what we did.

Today, when I need to fire up the heat, all I have to do is go turn up the thermostat. Isn’t technology wonderful? Although I can honestly say that I do miss those old days. I remember back when I would be bringing in the coal and my grandfather (long past his prime) would be waiting to open the door for me. This would save me a few seconds on each load and was greatly appreciated. I remember when my wife Anne and I first started dating many years ago we would spend nights in the greenhouses together planning our future. There we were, sleeping on folding lounge chairs, watching a 19-inch black and white T.V., waiting for the boiler to burn down… just to load it again. We would repeat this process until daylight. What a women she is! I remember walking into that greenhouse at 2AM in the morning and feeling that warm, moist heat hit me in the face, thanking God that I did not doze off for too long. I also remember how glad I was when that mountain of coal had dwindled down to just a molehill, and the heating season was over. Although I would not trade those memories for anything, it sure is nice to walk over and turn up the thermostat, lock the doors, and go home to spend time with Anne, reminiscing about the past.

The older I get, the more I seem to think about the past much more often. Many people say they would do a lot of things different, if they could go back and do it again. I can honestly say I am not one of those people. I am doing something I love, with the people I love. What more could a person want from life? I am truly blessed. I also want to tell you all how important each and every one of you are to us. You are the reason we work so hard. We want to give you what you want, when you want it, and do it in a friendly environment. Remember that at Niepagens, you’re more than a customer… you’re a friend! And, for those of you that we have not personally met, please come out and introduce yourselves. We love getting to know our customers on a more personal level. Well, thanks for checking out this month’s “Words from Lee”.

See you all very soon, I hope!