April 9, 2020 – West Bend, WI – An unexpected ramification of the current COVID-19 crisis has given a one-two punch to another mom-and-pop business in Wisconsin. Schroeder’s Flowers in Green Bay is a wholesaler, one of the largest in the Midwest, that supplies flowers to churches across the state.
With the cancellation of Palm Sunday services and Easter Sunday Mass many parishes dropped their floral orders.
“We’ve got thousands of them,” said shop owner Charles Schroeder. “We’ve gone on the internet, we’re selling flowers to people we normally don’t sell to. Every day brings up a new situation.”
Schroeder’s Flowers has been in existence 120 years. “I’m the fourth generation and I have a son working here also,” said Schroeder.
Tennies Ace Hardware in West Bend, Jackson and Kewaskum has lent a hand and picked up some of the Schroeder stock.
“We have Easter Lilies, calla lilies, tulips, hydrangea plants, hyacinth and kalanchoe plants,” said Tennies. “They called us about a week ago and these were offered at a really good price and we have them on sale.”
Schroeder said when the Green Bay Dioceses made the announcement about closing the churches his heart sank.
“We supply so many flowers and palms to sanctuaries across the state so we’ve tried to adapt but it has made a big difference in business,” he said.
Aside from watching out for his warehouse, Schroeder has also been keeping an eye on his employees. “One of our seasonal workers had car trouble so I lent her one of our vehicles so she could get to another job,” he said. “She took the vehicle home and called this morning to say someone stole the car out of her driveway.”
Schroeder is 78 years old. He said throughout the years Schroeder’s Flowers has made it through some difficult times. “My grandfather survived The Great Depress and World War II when there was virtually no able-bodied males left to work,” he said. “I remember my father telling me when the Spanish Flu went through the area he was the only person in the family who wasn’t ill. I’m sure that was a problem getting through that also.”
Schroeder is optimistic. “My wife is working the phones and we have some loyal employees and we’re doing a lot of business online … we’ll make it through,” he said.
If you would like to help Charles Schroeder and his family the store number is posted below.
1530 S. Webster Ave.
Green Bay, WI 54301
(920)436-6363
(800)236-4769
