When Rittenhouse Village of Valparaiso resident Julia Lippelt purchased the Wanatah flower shop Flowers and Such, she watched it blossom from an ordinary flower shop to a garden of family treasures and memories over time.
Before owning the shop, Lippelt worked at Lowensteins, a former department store in town. When the store decided to close its doors, Lippelt’s daughter, Jill Fryar, became the source of inspiration for her next career move.
“I worked at Flowers and Such and I knew the owner,” Fryar said. “She was going to sell it and she was really nervous. And so I told mom, I said, ‘You buy it and I'll manage it for you.’ So that's what we did.’”
Lippelt, now 94 years young, owned Flowers and Such for a total of 18 years. When Lippelt decided to step down, Fryar purchased the shop from her mother and kept Flowers and Such blooming for 11 more wonderful years.
Both ladies saw this as a wonderful opportunity to work closely with each other and other family members, as it was now easier to bond and connect with each other in ways that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
“I think it just made us close,” Fryar said. “We got to see each other every day and help each other, and I think that's what family is all about.”
“We never, ever, ever had an argument,” Lippelt added.
Owning a business also came with meeting people from all walks of life, allowing Lippelt and Fryar to become fully immersed in the Wanatah community and surrounding areas.
“The people were a big part of it because it's a community. Wanatah is such a small community and we're really good to our customers,” Fryar said. “We went over and above. If they needed something on Sunday we'd meet them there and blow up balloons or help them where needed. We loved our customers.”
“Meeting all the people was my favorite part of it,” Lippelt said.
While the community was small, it allowed for Lippelt and Fryar to know their customers on a more personal level, to the point where the flower shop became an extended member of their customer’s families. This also included some prominent figures within the Northwest Indiana area, such as Charlie Finely, a previous owner of the Oakland A’s baseball team.
“He lived in La Porte and he had us do all these different arrangements and we took them out there,” Fryar said.
There were even times when Lippelt and Fryar thought he was just buying flowers not because he needed them, but to just support the shop.
“We don't know that he was really having a party,” Fryar said. “I think he just had us make all those arrangements because he wanted to support us. And it was hundreds of dollars, but there was no sign of him having a party there, but he was really nice to us.”
Lippelt and her family also raised kosher veal at the time, which they would occasionally bring to Finley because they knew he enjoyed the dish. They became acquainted through these deliveries, which led to Finley loving the flower shop just as much, if not more, than the food, and became a good friend with the Lippelt family.
“Then he ordered all those flowers. He also danced with Mom on her birthday. He put together a jukebox and he had ‘Happy Birthday’ on there and he played it while dancing. It was a lot of fun,” said Fryar.
Weddings are also a common occurrence when working at a flower shop. Thinking about the topic always brings a smile to Lippelt and Fryar’s faces as they reminisce on the heartwarming and funny moments that came from being involved with such events.
“One time I accidentally took flowers to the wrong church,” said Lippelt. “The pastor of the church was about to do the ceremony but said ‘Where are the flowers?’ I said they were here, but he said ‘No, nothing's here.’ I said ‘Oh my gosh,’ and dashed to the church and gathered over flowers. There were a couple of women that helped me, and that was nice. I went over to the other church and the groom said to me ‘I'm so happy you did that because I was so nervous. And that calmed me down.’”
Tons of fun moments were also created outside of the Region because of Flowers and Such as well. Once a year, Lippelt and Fryar would take the train into Chicago for gift shows and then stay overnight for some shopping, good food, and making lifetime memories.
While the Flowers and Such closed down around five years ago, both Fryar and Lippelt said working at the shop was a dream come true, mostly because the mother-daughter duo were able to experience this together from the get-go.
“We loved our job. We didn't mind going to work every day. It was nice. We enjoyed a day off here and there, but working together that's what made it nice,” Fryar said.
The love for flowers also extends outside the immediate family as well. Lippelt’s sister-in-law, Bev Lippelt, also had a flower shop in North Judson that Fryar also worked at. Bev Lippelt’s daughter-in-law, Vanessa, had a flower shop of her own as well in Kouts. Fryar additionally has a cousin in Brookston, a town near Lafayette, who also has a flower shop there as well.
Lippelt and Fryar also enjoy sharing their passion for flowers with the staff and residents at Rittenhouse Village. Fryar mentioned she will make wreaths, door decorations, and table decorations for holidays and special occasions, which everyone in the facility absolutely loves.
If I can bring a smile to someone's face down there, it’s worth it. The only problem is that the residents sometimes love the decorations a bit too much and try to take them back to their rooms,” Fryar joked.
Lippelt’s sister, Rose Yakimicki (maiden name Jacob) is also a resident at Rittenhouse, and Lippelt mentioned it’s comforting to have her nearby as her sister battles Dementia.
For more information on Rittenhouse Village of Valparaiso, visit their website here.