(Melrose Park's motto was "Corporate King of the Suburbs.")
Amling's, like Kiddieland, played a part in building my early memory bank. I think it had a role in other people's recollections, too. Today, for example, when I searched for additional historical information about Amling's, I encountered an interesting detail. Many families mentioned in a decedent's obituary that the loved one had worked at Amling's.
When prom season arrived, the cool teenagers visited Amling's to buy expensive corsages and boutonnières. I remember following a relative to the back of the store, where the artists arranged the corsages. The smell of the ripe orchids, mixed with the humid, florist's air, made me queasy.
During the summer months, parents took children to the Amling's pond, which had a small raft of ducks. We fed Wonder Bread to the fat, white ducks. They were friendly ducks, and they never snapped at us.
In October, we visited the elaborate—and awesomely scary—Amling's Haunted House. After the fear of the haunted visit had caused us to "crawl out of our pelts," as Lithuanians say, we stepped outside and rode the Ferris Wheel on the Amling's property.
At Christmas time, Amling's sold "flocked" natural Christmas trees. One rarely sees flocked, real trees any longer.
The most fascinating Christmas tradition that Amling's maintained was its life-size Bethlehem village. The display consisted of (a 1960s understanding of) a Bethlehem replica, complete with statutes of all the players in the Christmas story. To a toddler, it was an impressive site.
"Amling's for … 'Every Bloomin' Thing'."
Melrose Park, Illinois, December 1960. Amling's erected the Christmas stable near its pond.
Melrose Park, Illinois, December 1960. The display featured life-size statutes of the Wise Men.
Melrose Park, Illinois, December 1960. A camel followed the Wise Men to the stable.
11 comments:
Sadly, I don't think anything remains of Amlings. In the late 70's I was a store manager when the chain had something like 15 store, at their peak. Great memories going to the store in Melrose Park in the fall.
Thanks for stopping by, Tom. Amling's was great in the Fall. I still have a "I survived the Haunted House" button somewhere.
If you click on the "Amling's" label at the bottom of the post, you'll see other entries in which I've posted more Amling's photos. I have quite a few snapshots from their Christmas displays. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the crèche featured live sheep.
What was the name of the Italian fruit and vegetable open-air market that I believe was directly in front of the Amlings on North Ave? I always loved Amlings greenhouse. I even tried to get a job there taking care of the plants.
The fruit and vegetable market was "Naples." I don't have any photos of the place, but we went there often. The family's children were patients of my Mom's. Each spring, the family brought Mom many flats of annuals--many more than could fit in our flower beds. I remember the chore of planting those. That's probably why the "Salvia" in the first annual plant I learned to recognize.
At Halloween time, my Best Friend and I would sneak over there (North Avenue was way beyond the territory in which our parents permitted us to roam) and admire the amazing pumpkins.
This post might interest you, too.
Reading everyone's posts rings back great memories of my childhood! Does anyone remember or have a picture of the enormous jack in the box style clown that would pop out & scare you? I would love to see one. That was a big highlight of Halloween there!
In addition to its retail establishments, Amlings was also a member major wholesale florist. My grandfather, Otto Amling, sold his business when he retired in the 1960's to a long time employee, Otto Westland. Subsequently the wholesale business declined as environmental regulations became stricter (the 7 acres of greenhouses burned enormous amounts of high sulfur coal from southern Illinois in the winter). After some consolidation the retail business also failed. Amlings went out of business for a while. Then an entrepreneur from Ohio I think purchased the business name and started a new floral business in the far western suburbs. The new Amlings also services office plants and you see their trucks once in a while in downtown Chicago.
In addition to its retail establishments, Amlings was also a major wholesale florist. My grandfather, Otto Amling, sold his business when he retired in the 1960's to a long time employee, Otto Wentland. Subsequently the wholesale business declined as environmental regulations became stricter (the 7 acres of greenhouses burned enormous amounts of high sulfur coal from southern Illinois in the winter). After some consolidation the retail business also failed. Amlings went out of business for a while. Then an entrepreneur from Ohio purchased the business name and started a new floral business under the name Amlings Florists in the far western suburbs. The new Amlings also services office plants and you see their trucks once in a while in downtown Chicago.
Thanks for visiting, Bill, and for providing these key details. I remember the retail area well. Didn't the shop--in the early 1960s--also sell some small pets (hamsters and goldfish)? I remember the humid air in the flower area, and I also recall helping a family member select an orchid corsage for a prom. My prom flowers likely also came from Amling's. The establishment has deep ties to my early life.
I remember visiting the Amlings on Ogden Avenue when I was a kid in the 60's and 70's. They had a fantastic pet shop with really exotic animals. I seem to remember a sea turtle , a monkey, and lots of saltwater fish at one time. It was so fascinating to me to go up and down the aisles of aquariums and see all the varieties of fish and reptiles. I also loved the craft section and my mom always bought me a stained glass kit of some kind each time we went there.
I unfortunately have nothing but bad memories of Amlings. I was one of three who purchased a franchise from them in 1985. After spending a life saving on the frachise and having the business be pretty successful for six months the president of Amlings called the three owners into his office and told us to take down the Amlings sign we were out of business. We fought him legally and won but the whole idea of dealing with him discussed me so I sold the business. A truly despicable man.
I am a German horticulturist who came to the States under the Industrial Trainee Program and worked for "Amling's Flowerland" in Melrose Park from April 1962 until July 1963. While there, I met Ray Amling and Pete Franconi. The "Haunted House" and "Christmas Village", among many other things, made for great memories. The owner of my company in Germany had some form of connection with the Amlings over here. Unfortunately, there is no one left I can ask about this. I heard that some German POWs were used to put up the greenhouses in Melrose Park following WWII. Can anyone verify this? Also, learning about the history of the Amling family in Germany would be most interesting. Any information on these two topics would be very much appreciated. frankhebold@hotmail.com
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