So, as my Grandma told the story to
me many, many years ago, this is how our family wreath business was
borne.
"When I was a young girl in
Norge (Norway) back in the late 1800's, my mother used to make a wreath each
year from evergreens we children would gather from the forest alongside the
fjord where we lived. It wouldn't take many boughs, and I liked gathering them
with my brothers. When I was older, my mother showed me how to make the wreath
that we would display on the door of our small home cottage each year. Ours was
a tough life and all of my brothers eventually died at sea, as either fishermen
or merchant sailors.
After I met your Grandpa in England
during WWI, we moved to America and, because the people in New York told us
that there were many Norwegians living in Minnesota, we moved to St. Paul. Our
small family had a hard 'go of it' during the Great Depression as did all of
our friends. However, each Christmas I loved making a nice wreath and hanging
it on our front door; it always reminded me of my own mother so many years ago.
One year when your father [John
Victor Mickman] was about 12 years old, he came home from school and saw my
nice wreath on the door. He wanted to buy a Christmas present for me, and had
an idea that maybe he could sell that wreath down the street to someone. Well,
that is just what he did. He walked up and down Summit Avenue where all the
rich people lived, until someone purchased this wreath. [My dad said it was
James J. Hill's daughter, founders of the Great Northern Railroad that
purchased this first wreath.]
With his newly earned money, your dad went to a store and purchased a lovely set of porcelain figurines - the set that I have on my bedroom bureau. The sales clerk was kind enough to wrap this gift for your dad, and he came home and presented it to me. Well, I knew your dad didn't have ANY money and I pinched his ear until he told me how he got the money to pay for the present. He finally confessed that he had taken our wreath off of the front door and sold it down on Summit Ave. I couldn't imagine that anyone would want to pay money for such a thing, and asked your dad if he thought he could sell any more. He said he thought he could sell as many wreaths as I could make!
So, your Grandpa, your dad and I gathered as many boughs as we could and I made wreaths out of all the boughs we could find. Your dad was able to sell these wreaths as fast as I made them, and he sold every single one - we didn't even have a wreath on our own door that year [of 1934]."
I am
pleased to say that our family’s tradition of making wreaths and selling (all
of them!) is alive and well. This year over half million families all over the
country will welcome home friends and family for the Holidays with a Mickman
Brothers Christmas Wreath gracing the entryway of their homes. Our family
business, and in particular the Wreath Business, continues to be my favorite
hobby. I’m fortunate that people choose to pay me for my labor of love.
John S Mickman
