DeKalb Mayor Frank Van Buer has declared October “Glidden Campus Florist Month.”

The Glidden Campus Florist, 917 W. Lincoln Highway, the largest floral retailer in DeKalb County, celebrates its 70th anniversary this weekend. Festivities run today through Saturday and include selling long-stem roses for 70 cents each.

“What makes an interesting community is the local people and then the businesses that grew up here,” said Sven Oscar Hansen, owner of The Glidden Campus Florist. “We’re one of the businesses that grew out of the soil of DeKalb.”

DeKalb first saw the flower shop sprout in 1928 when Mabel Glidden began selling garden-grown flowers and plants out of her home, the historical Glidden Homestead. Her business grew tremendously, and in 1936, Glidden Florist and Greenhouse was established in the garage adjacent to her home.

Glidden Campus Florist has gone through numerous physical changes over the years, more specifically in 1978 when Wenke, Sven and Oscar Hansen took over the business after the Glidden family retired.

The Hansen family tore down some of the original greenhouses and added a front room where the entrance to the store now resides.

“We’ve expanded,” Hansen said. “We’ve been through several different building phases, adding more square footage and more space for design.”

In addition, they now have an established Web site, www.glidden-florist.com, which brings in much more business.

“Most of our marketing and our business is over the Internet now,” said Hansen.

They have an ever-growing listserv, or e-mail list, with over 3,000 people.

“We’re constantly re-creating ourselves over the years, staying abreast with new things and serving our customers with bigger and better things.”

New DeKalb resident Dan Miles has only been in the town for four months, but he has already chosen Glidden’s for all his floral needs.

“I’ve been here once before and the service was good and friendly,” Miles said.

Long-time floral designer Jacquie Young agrees with Miles’ views. She remembers coming to Glidden’s as a child. Now that she is an employee at Glidden’s, she shares a sort of sentiment with other patrons.

“When I go to other towns I stop at flower shops, and it’s never quite the same as Glidden’s,” Young said.

Despite its popularity and longevity in the area, The Glidden Campus Florist will likely remain an integral part of the DeKalb community for many years to come.

Herminia Irizarry is a City Reporter for the Northern Star.