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FAMILY TIME — After 25 years of business, Myong Cullins will be spending more time with family and friends. Cullins will be closing Myong’s Greenhouse in Stacyville this Friday. Cullins is seen with her youngest grandson, Jacob, in front of the greenhouses this summer.
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
STACYVILLE — Aroostook County people are known for their ingenuity and work ethic. Myong Cullins coupled a necessity and a hobby together to form a profitable and pleasurable business for the last 25 years.
She will be retiring from Myong’s Greenhouse in Stacyville this Friday. Her Outback Gift Shop will stay open for a couple of more years.
Before getting into the greenhouse business, Cullins was attracted to crafts such as painting, sewing and knitting.
“She has continued to develop those interests and is very talented,” said daughter, Angela Menard.
While Cullins was busily setting up her greenhouses, her passion for the arts took a backseat.
“I was so busy, I did not have time for these other interests,” she explained.
With the closing of the greenhouse, Cullins will concentrate more on her arts and the gift shop will allow her to continue her interests. During the off-season, she took art classes in painting, quilting and wood carving.
With many talented artists in the area, Cullins encourages others to use her gift shop as a forum to showcase their art.
However, Cullins realizes without the greenhouse as a draw, it will be a challenging endeavor. She has already been working to create new pieces, while adding more variety and items to the gift shop.
Along with the gift shop, Cullins plans to continue marketing trees, shrubs and perennials.
“I will have more time to do things for the shop,” she said. “I am going to be so busy with the shop, adding new things.”
In her semi-retirement, Cullins will be making up lost time with her daughters, grandchildren and friends.
“Mom has one grandson who starts college this fall and three more younger grandsons she would like to spend time with,” Menard added. “And, there is also another grandchild on the way!”
Cullins will also be able to spend more time socially with friends, who get together regularly.
Cullins opened her greenhouse in Stacyville as a means to an end. As a stay-at-home mother, money was tight.
“We did not have extra money because all our money was being saved to put towards college for all three girls,” she said. “Two were going through college and another getting ready to go to college.”
With no nursery experience, Cullins started gradually growing herbs in one very small greenhouse and then added a little more each year.
“I just always liked gardening,” she said.
That tiny greenhouse expanded into a larger one the next year, as Cullins wanted more variety.
“As we could afford more, we were able to build the other three greenhouses,” she said.
Cullins moved from herbs to flowers, perennials, vegetables, trees and shrubs.
She has seen her business undergo many changes through the years from furnaces to heat the greenhouses since she would start seedlings in late February to making sure snow was removed away from the greenhouses.
Initially the Cullins heated all four greenhouses with wood, with the larger two greenhouses having two large wood stoves in them. She would go every four hours to add wood to the stoves and check the temperature. This had to be done around the clock.
But, Cullins was not alone, as her husband, Larry, helped her with the chores.
Then the greenhouses were heated with Siebring Heatmaster Classic furnaces. Even with the oil furnaces, the Cullins would have to go out and check the temperature in the greenhouses through the night because the temperature could not drop below 32 degrees or the tender seedlings could be damaged or destroyed.
Contributed photo
IN BLOOM — Myong’s Greenhouse will be closing this Friday after 25 years of business. However, her Outback Gift Shop will remain open. Myong Cullins’ greenhouses were in full bloom this year.
Eventually, the couple installed remote thermometers so they could check on the greenhouses temperature from their own home, without having to fight the elements. But, even with the remote thermometer, the couple would still get up during the night to keep watch of their seedlings.
Another aspect of the business was snow removal.
“It is crucial to keep snow from building up on the greenhouses,” Cullins noted. “We would stay close to home in case of storms. The big storms were especially difficult. We would use walk-behind snowblowers then Larry bought a small tractor with a blower attachment.”
So, even in the wintertime, the couple could not take time to visit their daughters or family who lived out-of-town.
Cullins admits she could not have run such a successful business without the support and help of her husband, who retired in 2008 from Great Northern/Katahdin Paper Mill in Millinocket/East Millinocket after 43 years of service. Instead of a leisurely retirement, Myong put him to work.
“He has worked hard to support my dream,” she said. “He even put up with all of my crazy ideas.”
Cullins also wanted to thank her daughter, Lynn Hamlin, who has assisted her in all aspects of the greenhouse and gift shop.
“She has been a tremendous help to me,” she said. “I want her to know how much I appreciate her for all the time she has dedicated to the businesses.”
Cullins never thought about locating her businesses other than where they are in Stacyville.
“This is where I live and it is a great location between the neighboring towns,” she said. “There are such nice people around here. You get to chat with everyone. It makes you feel good when customers come back.
“We have been fortunate to have such a loyal customer base,” Cullins added. “It’s been great with people coming back each year. I’m really going to miss that. I always enjoyed meeting new customers, too.”
The Outback Gift Shop is still open and customers may visit her there.
“So many people were disappointed to hear she was retiring,” said Menard. “They were happy for her, but the knew that they would miss seeing her. She has told them to please continue to visit because she, too, is going to miss everyone.”
Cullins will keep people uptodate on her new hours, the Outback Gift Shop, along with her continued tree, shrub and perennial sales in the spring on Facebook at Myong’s Greenhouse.
For more information or to reach Myong’s Greenhouse, located at 607 Station Road, Stacyville, call 365-4381.
