Tom's Greenhouses and Florist marks 65 years in business

By Ginny Privitar
You know Tom's Greenhouses must be doing something right; May 1 marked their 65th year in business. Recently Gary Esposito, Tom's son, reminisced about his parents start in the business and about his own era.
When Gary Esposito's father, came back from Korean War, he opened Tom's Greenhouse. His wife Phyllis was a teacher. The couple had three children and Phyllis turned to substitute teaching, but worked in the greenhouse every holiday and during spring. She transplanted all the seedlings and worked in the flower shop making corsages for Mother's Day, Easter, weddings and proms and creating floral designs. "She had learned from dad who had been trained in horticulture and floriculture," Gary said.
During cold weather the heat in the greenhouse was a major concern.
"When mom went in to labor with my brother," Gary remembered, his dad dropped his mom off at the hospital to deliver and left. "It was a bad storm. He had to come back and sleep in the greenhouse to make sure the heat stayed on." He'd go back to the hospital the next day. Phyllis was a pillar of strength; sadly she recently passed away.
Fast forward to Gary's time.
"I remember one time we were building a new glass greenhouse and the truck driver who was delivering the components never showed up," he said. Three days went by. "Finally 10 o'clock at night during a blizzard there was a knock on the door and there's the truck driver. He was French Canadian and he didn't speak English and he wanted me to come out and unload the greenhouse." The driver had no idea what was in the truck, and the components weighed 10 tons. Finally an understanding was reached: "The driver slept over in the truck, and the next day a friend came over with a front-end loader and helped unload everything--still in the middle of a snowstorm," Gary said. "The guy only had a five-hour drive and was three days late!"
Gary related a funny story. Every few years the two plastic layers on the 100-foot greenhouse need to be replaced. The job takes about six people to accomplish. "The ends need to be held down and the large roll of plastic has to be rolled down the length of the greenhouse and secured. Needless to say it is a lot of work," Gary said. They always wait for a calm weather day to do the maintenance. "Two men usually secure one end and then it is rolled down by the others. If a gust of wind picks up it is like a sail on a sailboat," Gary said.
Two young, inexperienced hands were working for the first time at securing the long length of plastic. They were told
"Not to let go of the plastic whatever you do." As things began, they stood their ground, Gary said. "The wind whipped up unexpectedly and next thing you know these two guys are flying on the edge of the plastic greenhouse 10 feet in the air. As instructed they did not let go."
One fond memory Gary shared is in a frame at the greenhouse. "An anonymous person mailed a $10 bill with a thank-you note," he said. Years ago a customer's grandmother passed away and someone at the greenhouse (most likely Tom) sent flowers to the service in Massachusetts even though the customer didn’t have enough money to pay for the flowers. "The thank you note was unsigned and has no date, but we are certain it is over 30 years old," Gary said.
Gary and his wife, Jane, who works with him, have three children: Melissa, 22; Emily, 18; and Thomas, 16, and all have helped out over the years."Thomas helped transplant and worked in the greenhouse, Emily liked to set up weddings," Gary said, "and Melissa will do everything from transplanting to processing fresh flowers. On Valentine's day, she took the thorns off 5,000 roses."
Thomas is a junior in high school and just completed his project to become an Eagle Scout from Troop 63. Thomas, along with help and guidance from his dad, Scoutmaster Paul Donohue and other Scouts and Troops, did renovations inside the foyer of the historic 150th-year-old AUMP church, repairing and plastering walls and ceiling, molding and trim work, and repairing a hole in the ceiling.
Over the years this small-town family business employed hundreds of kids from Goshen high school, or hired customers' children. The business served generations. "My dad did the wedding flowers for parents and their kids and I've done their kids' weddings," Gary said. He has no plans to retire and customers are glad."
According Linda Stern of Goshen "We have been part of the Tom's Greenhouse family for over 30 years. We were dear friends of Tom Esposito and it's my pleasure to say that Gary and Jane have carried on with the same commitment to customer satisfaction and always providing the most beautiful flowers, arrangements, plants, etc. Thank you Gary and Jane for once again adding so much beauty to our hom
Tom's Greenhouses and Florist123 Montgomery St.
Goshen, NY
(845) 294-5233
tomsgreenhouses@frontiernet.net