Florist Fondly Recalls Working with UMHB for Half-Century
November 06, 2024
By Christi Mays
The year was 1973—Norman Northen's senior year at Belton High School, and the first time students were involved in planning the senior prom. As a volunteer on the student decorations committee, Norman's vision for "An Evening in Camelot" was to illuminate the banquet hall with 400 candles, so he went on a mission to visit every florist in the area looking for wedding candelabras to borrow.
When he walked into Lois' Bridal and Floral in Temple, which was the largest florist around at that time, she was so impressed with his idea—calling it the "best vision of an event she'd ever seen"—that she told him he could borrow anything in her shop that wasn't rented.
A year later, fate would have it that Norman's grandmother, Ara Lee Normand ‘65, who was MHB’s registrar while he was a student, told him about a job as an after-school delivery person at Lois’ shop and he went to interview.
"When I got to the appointment, I never even sat down. Lois hired me on the spot, saying, 'You're the one who was here for the prom; you're hired!'" Norman recalled.
FLORIST FOR FOUR FIRST LADIES
That day changed the trajectory of Norman's 50-year career, which included working in four florist shops in Belton and Temple, one of which he owned and ran for eight years. He originally planned to get his art degree and teach. Never did he foresee himself working as a florist, much less as one for his entire career. Nor did he expect to earn the business of four Mary Hardin-Baylor first ladies. However, looking back now over the half-century of work he's done for longtime clients like UMHB and the many state and national accolades he's achieved, Norman says it all ended up being a great blessing.
HOME SWEET HOME
UMHB has always felt like home to Norman, who says he lived just two miles from campus and visited frequently since his grandmother, Ara Lee, was the registrar and his grandfather, R.T. Normand, worked as the postmaster. So when it came time for him to go to college, there was no other choice in mind; he always knew he would attend MHB. Because he had taken college classes during his high school years and was able to CLEP out of several courses, Norman already had enough hours to rank as a sophomore when he started in the fall of 1973. However, his aspiration to major in art with a minor in interior design vanished after a visit with an advisor who told him that route would require 18 additional hours. In tears, he walked to his grandmother's office. She suggested he visit the new home economics chair, who helped create a customized degree plan for Norman that included the ability to combine his love of art and interior design.
The young student was a go-getter and finished college in two years at the age of 20, sometimes taking as many as 22 hours a semester, and was the first male student to graduate with a home economics degree with an emphasis in interior design and a minor in art.
INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCE
His love and appreciation for the beauty of flowers developed as a
youngster from hanging around his grandmothers. One grandmother was a
member of the garden club and iris society; the other was a farmer's
wife and "could throw a seed out in the flower garden, and in three
months it was full of flowers," he said with a chuckle. "We always had
flowers. I don't ever remember having an occasion at either
grandparents' house that there weren't flowers on the table."
He fondly recalls cutting flowers with them in their gardens and
learning how to arrange them in vases. So, when he was hired as Lois'
delivery driver, helping create beautiful arrangements came naturally to
him. Since he was a student at UMHB, Norman asked Lois if he could
approach First Lady Marietta Parker about earning MHB’s business. Lois
told him it wasn't likely to happen because there were two other
florists in Belton. But Mrs. Parker said yes, and that was the beginning
of his relationship with UMHB.
Mrs. Parker had Norman designing arrangements and dozens of corsages
and boutonnieres for the annual Christmas community open houses she and
President Dr. Bobby Parker threw at their home. With just pennies for a
budget, Norman remembers charging her around 25 cents per boutonniere.
Over the past few decades, Norman continued to work with First Ladies
Vicki Bawcom and Julie O’Rear and even earned some personal business
from the Tanners (who preceded Parker's presidency). Norman says it has
been an honor serving his alma mater and four presidents and their
wives.
HEART AND SOUL
Throughout his career, Norman built up an impressive list of accolades, including being named the 2001 Texas Designer of the Year, Austin Designer of the Year (twice, even though he never lived outside of Belton), Dallas Designer of the Year, and Central Texas Designer of the Year twice. He even helped Precious Memories, where he retired in March, earn Retail Florist of the Nation in 2007. "We were the smallest shop ever to win the award," he said. This summer, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas State Florist Association—the highest honor given to an individual for service to the industry.
Shaking his head, Norman said, "It's simply unbelievable that a little kid from Belton, Texas, could do this."
But for Norman, being a florist isn't about winning awards.
"When you do an arrangement, you envision that you're doing it for your own mother. Those people deserve exactly what you would do for her. And that's the way I've always thought about it," he said. "Because you've got people at the highest points in their lives and the lowest points in their lives. It's a total ministry."
