A look into how flowers have forged their way into our family.

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Bonhard Florist began in the 1940s thanks to my grandparents, John and Mildred Bonhard. My grandpa, John, had returned home from the Navy after earning his Lieutenant JG ranking during World War II. He was one of the few of his era to receive a horticultural degree from the University of lllinois.
Throughout their business, my grandparents worked as a team to provide the Belleville, Illinois community and surrounding areas with beautiful blooms! Up until recently, you could still see their greenhouses on what is now, Frank Scott Parkway (across from Copperbend). They grew many varieties but specialized in carnations, snapdragons and chrysanthemums which were sold to area florists as well as used in their own pieces.

My grandparents were kind, gentle people. I never once recall hearing either of them so much as raise their voice. Having lived through the Great Depression, they both knew what it meant to give back. I have heard of the stories of drifters hopping off the trains that came by their property, curling up in my grandparents’ smoke stack to stay warm for the night. Grandma would make them sandwiches-no one was ever turned away.

By the time I came around, my grandparents had happily retired from Bonhard Florist. Instead of sand castles, grandpa would plop me on the potting table (soil castles were more fun thanks to the many rollie pollies that posed as my village people).  I have so many questions I wish I could ask them today, but I know that they’re here, every single day, in my heart.

Without them, this dream would be just that, just a dream.  I am forever grateful for my grandparents and the lessons they taught me, not through words, but by how they lived their lives.