FREEPORT, Ill. (WIFR) – For nearly a century, one Freeport family has grown more than flowers and fruit—they’ve grown a tradition. On Saturday, that tradition reaches a turning point as DeMeester’s Greenhouse and Apple Orchard goes up for auction.
The business, which has been in the DeMeester family for 94 years, became a cultural mainstay for customers across Stephenson County and beyond. But owner Mike DeMeester said it’s time to move on, with health concerns forcing a decision he never expected to make.
“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Mike said. “I’ve grown up and was raised here in this house and came over almost every day of my life it just hasn’t hit me, but it will.”
The roots of DeMeester’s stretch well beyond Freeport. Mike said his great-grandparents emigrated from Belgium, bringing generations of gardening knowledge to the Midwest before eventually planting permanent roots in Stephenson County.
“We always tried to treat customers like family,” Mike said. “And we’ve always treated our employees like family too.”…