G&S Nursery Spring Newsletter 2019

INSIDER
SPRING 2019
TWO KIDS.
A RIDEABLE VACUUM CLEANER.
A STAIRCASE.
See p.4 to find out more...
WHAT’S INSIDE | THIS ISSUE
PRE-DISNEY FLORIDA
NEW FACES
FEATURED PLANT

Our riddle from the last issue
stumped everyone...
For the first time in the history of
the newsletter, our quiz question
stumped everyone. Not one correct
answer was submitted to the
multiple-choice question: In 1901
Which port city of Florida laid claim
to the state’s largest population?
The question was inspired by a
book called Last Train
to Paradise: Henry
Flagler and the Spectacular
Rise and Fall
of the Railroad That
Crossed an Ocean
by Les Standiford (©
Henry Flagler
2002, Crown Publishing
Co.). The book
follows the exploits of
Henry Flagler (1830 – 1913) in the
final decades of his illustrious life.
After making his fortune as John
D. Rockefeller’s right-hand man in
the oil business, he stepped away
from an active role at Standard Oil
late in the 19th century. At that time,
Standard had become infamous for
its monopolistic business practices,
and Flagler was cast as one of the
most hated men in the country.
2
Downtown Key West circa 1900
In his semi-retirement, he sought
out a restorative climate for his sick
wife. This quest inadvertently put
him on a path to a new career and
the rehabililtation of his reputation.
He would devote the rest of his life
to building a rail line that reached
ever southward down the east coast
of the Florida peninsula. With each
extension of the tracks, he would
construct a new luxury hotel in
places that before had been barely
accessible except by steamer. St.
Augustine, Ormond Beach, Palm
Beach and Miami each in turn
became the new tourist hot spot as
Flagler’s rail line and hotels made
them accessible. The city of Miami
did not even exist before the rail line
put it on the map. Flagler’s manifest
destiny was to complete the rail line
all the way to Key West before he
died. He believed that connecting
Key West would greatly enhance
the value of the rail line by the ability
to transport freight to a strategic
deepwater port.
Key West had been settled much
earlier than Florida’s gold coast due
to its placement at the convergence
of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico,
close by the Caribbean islands of
Cuba and the Bahamas. According
to the website worldpopulationreview.com,
“Throughout the 1800s,
the city began to grow and was the
richest city per capita in the country.”
By the end of the 19th century,
“Key West was the wealthiest and
largest city in the state.” Population
in 1900 was 17,114, but had risen to
nearly 20,000 ten years later.
While other cities in Florida have
since eclipsed one million residents,
Key West population growth has not
kept pace. Today’s population for
Key West is listed as 26,990.
Greetings!
My name is Gabriel Curry. I am the
founder and the “G” in G&S Nursery.
Zack Kirsch, our general manager
whose musings have appeared
on this page for many years, has
graciously granted me this platform
to address our clients personally.
Although I have been overseeing
operations at G&S since its founding
in the early 1990s, there was a
long period of time where I delegated
the day-to-day management to
general managers while I devoted
most of my energies to other business
pursuits. I had become owner
and president of HUB Industrial
Supply, a company that eventually
was sold to Applied Industrial
Technologies (AIT). After fulfilling
my contractual obligations to AIT, I
left HUB, and for the last few years
I have become increasingly more
hands-on with G&S Nursery.
Zack is still a very important officer
at G&S. Since we are now a much
larger operation than we were just a
few years ago, I am dependent on
him as well as the rest of the team
here to work our tails off making
G&S the highlight of your day!
G&S started out with just me potting
up and growing out ground
cover on my father-in-law’s property.
He is the “S” in G&S (I bought
him out in 2015). It was a way to
earn some extra money as a newly
married man. My family has grown
along with the nursery, and few
weeks ago, my wife and I had
the pleasure of seeing our oldest
daughter, Alyssa, get married.
Time moves on.
I look forward to getting better acquainted
with our amazing clients
in the weeks and months ahead.
I’ve known some of you for a long
time, but I realize I’m a stranger to
many of you, and I hope to change
that. I hope you enjoy the story
about my childhood on the following
pages; I’d love to get your
reaction if you do.
Take Care,
Gabriel Curry
President
G&S Nursery
386 754-0161
gabriel@gsnursery.com
3

The Vacuum
Cleaner Cowboys
4
By Gabriel Curry
I grew up in a large family. Mom
and dad kept having kids until they
stopped two shy of a dozen. They
managed to find an old house big
enough for all of us in Arlington
Heights, Illinois.
One of the quaint features of this
house was the lack of anything resembling
a front hall entrance. What
greeted you when you opened the
stately front door was a three-way
intersection: To the left was our dining
room, to the right was our living
room, and directly ahead was an
enormous stairway going up to the
second floor.
Life in the house was, as you might
imagine, full of activity. None of us
was much acquainted with concept
of “using your inside voice,” and
that included my mom! Throw in a
few kids from the neighborhood,
and there seemed to be no end of
amusements, industry or mischief.
My dad understood the value—no,
the absolute necessity—of treating
my mom to time off. As soon as my
sister Joy was old enough, she was
left in charge when my folks went
out. As the second oldest, I was her
deputy. As any deputy will tell you,
the job entails little of the authority
but nearly equal the responsibility
of the first in charge when things go
badly.
My brothers Ben and Calvin were a
year apart. As two of the younger
members of the family, they learned
very early in life the advantages of
partnership, and they often relied on
each other for diversion and sometimes
even for survival.
We had one of those indestructible
cast metal vacuum cleaners that
looked like a torpedo on wheels.
When they were three and four years
old, Calvin and Ben discovered they
could ride this thing as a “horse”
when mom and dad weren’t around,
and a thrilling trip it was when they
rode it tandem down the staircase!
It was bumpy, scary, and there was
no turning back until all momentum
halted with a boom! at the sturdy
front door.
So picture, if you will, the contented
mom and dad strolling up the walk
after a pleasant evening away from
the stresses of work and the keeping
of a very active house. They can’t
know it when they reach the stoop,
but at the very instant dad is reaching
for the door, Ben and Calvin on the
second floor have just pointed their
“horse” toward that very same door
and have launched themselves on
Historical illustration courtesy Ben Curry
one more Electrolux ride past the point
of no return…
The aftermath of that incident yielded
three results: The “horse” was retired
from the rodeo circuit and lived out
the rest of its life as a vacuum cleaner;
Ben and Calvin got off scot-free; and
Joy and I were held wholly accountable,
sentenced to endure stern lectures
whenever the incident was called
to mind, which it was, frequently, especially
over the following few weeks.
Even though growing up in a large
family had its challenging moments,
I can say now I would not trade it for
anything because it made me who
I am today. I learned that the world
didn’t revolve around me by about the
time I was weaned, which I guess is as
good a time to face that reality as any.
It instilled in me a strong work ethic
and a commitment to helping others.
It taught me humility, self sufficiency,
and the power of teamwork. In short,
it was excellent training to prepare me
for business.
Coming from a large family as I did,
makes it feel natural to consider all
you who deal with G&S Nursery as
members of our extended family.
I hope you got a chuckle from this
story, and if there is anything we can
do for you, please give us a call!
Have a Great Month!
5

Featured
Plant
A shrub most famous for its
brilliant colored berries that last
well into the winter, it exhibits
a pleasing yellow-green foliage
even when the berries are not
present.
The berries become ripe in
September and attract cardinals,
mockingbirds, finches,
woodpeckers and others. The
crushed leaves have long been
known to repel mosquitos and
other biting insects.
This shrub is suitable for full
sun or shade and grows easily
in all climate zones that we
serve. In colder climates, the
leaves will fall in the winter and
the recommended treatment
before Spring is to cut the bare
branches down to the base of
the planting to encourage new
growth. In climate zones where
the leaves do not drop, pruning
is best accomplished by cutting
overgrown branches at the
base where they emerge, This
6
386 754-0161
BEAUTYBERRY
Callicarpa americana
3 gal: $8.50!
Prices good through the end of May 2019
is not the kind of shrub you will have much
success trimming into any kind of symmetrical
shape. Its growth habit is not unlike
the crepe myrtle with new shoots springing
out from the base of the plant and reaching
lengths of 5 or 6 feet.
“Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three
decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good”
— Thomas Sowell
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
G&S is delighted to introduce you to our
newest team members!
David Moor
Susan Seavers
Vince McConnell
Quality assessment of a living
thing, like a plant, is frought with
judgment calls. Our jasmine plants
may look like they are the product
of an assembly line, but of course
they are not. When we have size
differences in the material we sell,
or any number of other variables
that would separate a premium
plant from an otherwise good quality
plant, we realize that we could
David joins us as our new controller.
He is a licensed CPA working out
of our Lake City office. He and his
wife Christine are both accountants.
When they aren’t working, they
enjoy travelling to the caribbean,
and also teaching their two young
children the tax benefits of accrual
vs. cash accounting.
With her extensive work experience
selling landscape plants, we
were glad to welcome Susan to
our staff as an account executive.
Susan is covering Orlando and the
west side of the Florida peninsula.
She is also a devoted mother to
her 3 grown kids and loves hiking,
fishing, and taking pictures.
Vince comes to G&S after earning
his MBA at Coastal Carolina University.
His position is sales specialist,
which is an inside role helping the
sales staff maximize their effectiveness.
One of the first projects he’s
been involved in is our new 2-tiered
plant availability list. Vince is an avid
sports fan and loves to fish.
G&S Rolls Our New Plant Grading System
make more of our clientele happy
by giving them the opportunity to
choose between good quality at a
great price and great quality at a
good price. Sometimes it matters to
have the best; sometimes it’s perfectly
acceptable to use plants that
will grow into their planting. Now you
can make that call by choosing the
price point that works best for you.
Read more at www.gsnursery.com/blog
www.gsnursery.com
7

1550 SW Bedenbaugh Ln.
Lake City FL 32025
RIDDLE OF THE MONTH
ANSWER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN:
Zack was in the final lap of the G&S 500.
He’d been trailing Pedro, who was in
second place, for several laps when he
finally saw his opportunity and passed
him in the straightaway just before the
checkered flag. What place did Zack
finish?
LAST ISSUE RIDDLE:
In 1901, which port city of Florida laid
claim to the state’s largest population? The
population of this city was 20,000 at the
time.
A) Jacksonville
B) Tampa
C) Key West
D) Miami
—See the article on page 2 for more
information.
ESSENTIAL OIL
DIFFUSER
LAST ISSUE’S WINNERS
Nobody had a correct answer!
Send answers to newsletter@gsnursery.com before April 30, 2019. All correct
answers will be entered into a drawing to win a prize!