On Sept. 11, 2001, the United States suffered a terrorist attack so earth-shattering that life as it was known changed forever. Even 21 years later, 9/11 is an ever-present factor in politics, culture and day-to-day life. One would be hard-pressed to find a news source that isn’t running a commemorative story on each year’s anniversary.
However, if anyone were to scroll through Facebook on the anniversary of the atrocity, they would assume the nearly 3,000 victims would’ve been forgotten by now had Target not been giving them an annual shout-out.
It seems that every business, from middle aged moms selling skincare products as part of a pyramid scheme to the National Football League, makes a “never forget” social media post on Sept. 11.
Well, Ganser’s Flower Shop did forget — or at least didn’t care enough to mention it. While everyone else was doing their patriotic duty, the Lake Delton, Wisconsin shop was silent.
“We’ve been doing business in this town for 30 years,” said shop owner Maria Ganser. “If you were to knock on just about any house within 15 minutes of here, you’d find that we’ve provided flowers for at least a few of their birthdays, funerals and prom-posals.”
As soon as the clock struck midnight on Sept. 12, those decades of good will went straight down the drain.
“I’m used to opening up the shop and finding that I already have a few new orders. When I went in this morning, everyone had canceled. Plus, it looked like someone broke in a few hours before and dumped Four Loko onto all of my plants. I slaved over those hydrangeas,” said Ganser.
Roy Lock, a former customer of Ganser’s, spoke to The Beet.
“As a warm-blooded American, the actions of the flower shop shook me to my core. Who would I be if I supported a company that doesn’t Google ‘9/11 remembrance photos’ and slap one up on Facebook along with a flag emoji once a year?”
Lock declined to comment on the fact that Ganser’s Flower Shop has given roughly $60,000 back to the community since 1992. The born-and-raised Lake Delton native was also asked about Maria Ganser’s effort to make sure school zones have stop signs, crosswalks and a legally enforceable speed limit below 70 mph by 2025.
“She’s just trying to take away kids being kids. If my children aren’t running for their lives each day on the way to and from school, then they’ll end up soft,” said the 42-year-old chronically single man.
Ganser’s was forced to shutter its doors just a few hours after opening on Sept. 12. While the business was in good enough financial shape to deal with sharply decreased sales the next few weeks, the now former local staple could not handle the moving and rebuilding fees that would come with having the current location burnt down.
“By the time six five gallon jugs of gasoline were at my store’s doorstep, I figured they might not be bluffing,” said Ganser of being forced to end her career after what boils down to taking a Sunday off.
Having been shunned by her community, most would assume Ganser might want to get a fresh start somewhere else. At least for now, a move isn’t in the cards.
“My grandparents were buried at the Lake Delton Cemetery. I was conceived under the high school’s bleachers during the 1962 homecoming game. Now, this town has taken away my life’s work — I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let it take my lanai from me too.”
Mackenzie is the first ever editor of The Beet and actually made of over 62% beet.
