is equally to his credit he is a level-headed business man, one who well understands the value of greenhouse space, and who can make every inch pay for itself.
Mr. Bartel, at the head of the J. M. Gasser, Rocky River greenhouses, and Mr. Brown, at the head of their two Cleveland stores, both retail and wholesale, form a combination that spells success. In a former chapter I have already referred to the J. M. Gasser establishment and the manner in which they expanded during the past quarter of a century.
The F. R. Williams Co., composed of F. R. Williams and three of the Bates Brothers, namely George, Herb, and Guy, has simply grown up with the city. Twenty-five years ago, the members comprising this enterprising firm attended the public schools, and never perhaps dreamt of a "Cleveland Cut Flower Co." with an immense range of glass at Newton Falls, about twenty-five miles out of Cleveland, where Roses, Carnations, and Chrysanthemums are grown on a large scale.
John Kirchner, who succeeded his father on the latter's death, some fifteen years ago, has enlarged his business on a scale that would unquestionably have astonished his sire, had John told him at the time of the possibilities of such expansion. Mr. Kirchner is progressive in his ideas, and no innovation calculated to bring about some improvement either in his greenhouses or in his store, is ever cast aside.
The Naumann Co. is composed of three enterprising young men, whose success as wholesale plant growers for the Cleveland market speaks in their favor.
Frank Friedley, a graduate of the E. G. Hill Co. of Richmond, Ind., later with the Chicago Carnation Co., Miss Belle Miller, of Springfield, III, and a postgraduate of the J. M. Gasser Co. of Cleveland, has launched a greenhouse establishment of his own, succeeding the James Eadie Co., a well known old-established firm. Mr. Friedley is a grower of no mean ability, and with a market ready at all times to take up high-grade stock, Friedley's success is practically assured.
C. Merkel & Sons, of Mentor, Ohio, twenty-five miles from Cleveland, are among the largest and most successful growers in the State. It has been said, and rightly so, that John Merkel, the head of the concern, can hold his own in the matter of producing high-grade stock, with any expert in the land and in Europe as well. Years ago, when a mere boy, he entered the employ of the J. M. Gasser Co. Young John, unlike most boys of his age, saw his chance. From the start, he made up his mind to learn all there was to be known about the greenhouses and the growing of stock. The late J. M. Gasser used to remark that nothing ever escaped the boy's attention. He seemed to know things, as if by intuition. After serving a few years at the Gasser establishment, he departed for New York, and at the age of twenty-one became foreman in a prominent Brooklyn greenhouse range. Having acquired more experience in the East, John bethought himself to launch an enterprise on his own account. It was hard work—a hard and trying experience. Money was not plentiful, nor did his prospects look especially encouraging at the start. But John Merkel looked far into the future. He saw the possibilities of growing for retail trade. He built a few houses, and from time to time kept on adding, now a lean-to, and then a house. His stock met with instantaneous demand, and his success was assured. Azaleas, Begonias, Cyclamen, Hydrangeas, pot Roses by the thousands, are grown successfully, not only for the Cleveland market, but for Toledo, Detroit, and other cities as well. Some of their stock is eagerly bought in St. Louis.
In the Summer of 1916, they built a range of four additional houses, where twenty thousand Roses for cut flower purposes have been planted.
The firm is composed of C. Merkel, the father, and three sons. William Merkel divides his attention between the greenhouses and salesmanship. And as a salesman, William is no less a success than as a grower.
