Johnsons's Garden Centers Text File document - copyright 2002
PDF file available at http://www.johnsonsgarden.com/newsletter/profiles.html

Meet Johnson's "West Wes"
September 2002
Carolyn Utter, Editor

    His background includes retail experience at hobby stores,
drug-stores and department stores. He has been the business manager of
one church and on the maintenance staff of another. Now on the staff at
Johnson's Garden Center, he is excited to combine his experience in
retail and management with his love for gardening as assistant manager
at Johnson's West 13th Store.

    Wes Karst (we sometimes affectionately refer to him as "West Wes"
because we have another Wes at our east store) started at Johnson's in
October of 2001. His first experiences at the garden center included
dismantling the lawn and garden displays to set up for the Christmas
season. Working alongside more seasoned staff members, Wes "tried to
stay out of their way" and let the more experienced people decorate the
store for Christmas. Soon, it was time to set up the store for spring
and Wes was able to put his retail experience to work planning the
store's layout and product displays.

    Wes got some of his gardening experience on the family farm in Falls
City, Nebraska where he and his two sisters grew up. As a kid, Wes
remembers falling in love with iris (the flower ... not a girl) and he 
shared fond memories of faithfully weeding the plot of iris growing near
their farm house. He also remembers saving his pennies to buy a few
bulbs to plant.

    Fast forward a few years to the spring of 2002 and Wes' infatuation
continues as he is carefully transplanting and caring for some miniature
iris growing at the house he and his family recently moved into. His
eyes lit up as he talked about purchasing some of the reblooming iris
that we'll have at Johnson's this fall.

    But the real twinkle in his eye came when Wes talked about his wife,
Jame and their four children; Eli (8), Laura (6), Jacob (3), and Gabriel
(2). Wes and Jame met in Enid, Oklahoma at a time when Wes was a manager
at Woolworths. Jame came into the store for a dose of nostalgia at the
old-fashioned lunch counter. While seated there, she spotted Wes
stocking shelves. Although she never spoke to Wes that day, she
remembers saying to herself "that's the man I'm going to marry." Jame
prayed for a little divine intervention so that one day they would meet.
The Lord soon provided when a mutual friend of theirs (who didn't know
of Jame's prayer) suggested that Wes use his vocal talents to try out
for the Summer Music Theatre. As assistant director of the musical, Jame
finally got her chance to meet Wes! They began to officially date after
the musical's cast party and the rest, as they say, is history.

    Wes' hobbies include yard work, canning and houseplants. (That's how
you know if someone is a REAL gardener ... they mention yard work as one
of their hobbies!) As the parents of young children, Wes and Jame are
learning that hobbies often take a back seat to kids' activities as they
shuffle between Eli's baseball, Laura's gymnastics and other activities.

    While at Johnson's, Wes has enjoyed learning about plants he was
previously unfamiliar with,  such as lantana and penta; and he has
enjoyed learning more about his favorite flower, the iris.

    As the pages of 2002's calendar turn, Wes will experience the fall
season at Johnson's for the first time ... and then it's back to
decorating for Christmas. Wes is really looking forward to Christmas now
that he has a little experience under his belt. In no time at all, he'll
be decorating trees along with Johnson's other "seasoned" Christmas
veterans.