Page 14 University Daily Kansan, September 16, 1983
Ex-mayor makes a living at others' hobby
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second in an occasional series of profiles on members of the Lawrence community.
By JOHN HOOGESTEGER Staff Reporter
For many people, growing plants is something they do to relax.
But for Fred Pence it's a business, that he says has become more common.
Pence owns and operates Pence
"Everyone in town is in the business during the seasons when they can get some cream off the top," says Pence.
LAWRENCE PEOPLE
Garden Center, 15th and New York streets.
Stores such as Gibsons, Wal-Mart and Ace Hardware are stocking plants in the spring and fall, when most are in stock. And that is hard on the pricing structure.
"They've taken a lot of the volume. People have become really conscious of getting the value of the dollar spent," he says.
The shopping centers often sell the plants at cost, without making a profit, to lure people into the store. Pence says.
DURING THE LAST 20 years, his
business has grown to include about 30 employees working at four locations. He also has a landscaping service, and he says the competition is keen there too.
“It’s easy for some guy with a pickup truck and two rusty shovels to call himself a landscraper,” he says, as he spit a wad of tobacco juice into a yellow wastebasket in his office.
"He doesn't pay taxes, workmen's compensation or worker's social security. That does a lot to the market price."
But Pence has the answer for staying in business despite the competition service.
"You have to build an image," Pence says. "Repeat customers are the key. You can't last five minutes without them. Once a person gets burned by some jack-heel operator they come to where they can get good service."
Pence says his service also includes offering sound advice.
"We make sure the customer buys the right product, and we make sure they know how to use it. Many of our customers don't realize how much service we give. I've looked at some of their gardens more times than they have."
Pence, 51, puts in about 60 hours a week taking care of his plants.
IN THE WINTER he has alarms hooked up to the heating system in the greenhouse and the lines run to his house next door. Before installing the heater, you should sleepy in the boiler room every night to make sure the heat didn't go out.
"If we lost the heat, we'd be in a lot of trouble," he says.
ALTHOUGH PENCE ENJOYS his business, and gardening, he says he never would have gotten into the business if he could have become a
"IIf I had enough money in the 156 I would have just started farming. it is a
Pence says he likes to work on his business every day. In his spare time he enjoys watching sporting events, particularly football.
1. don't care if they win or lose, so long as they play well," he says. "I like to see them hit people."
Pence was drafted by some of his neighbors about 14 years ago to run for City Commission. Somewhat hesitantly, he says, he ran and won a four-year stint on the commission, and spent one year as mayor.
Since then Pence has occasionally found a need to become reinvolved in city government, most recently when he led a recall drive against former city commissioner Tom Gleason.
GLEASON HAD PRESENTED a letter to the press in which he asked for the resignation of City Manager Buford Gleason and placed at the way Gleason was operating.
"On the commission you're only one of five," he says. "You're supposed to put items on the agenda for a vote. If you don't, you're not going." No one has a right to go off on his own.
Pence says he is much more pleased with the present City Commission than the last one, but he is not pleased with the short运 on downtown redevelopment.
"They seem to be acting more like an executive board," he says. "But they have talked the downstream to death. If they want to use tax money they should put it on the ballot and get public attention, but if they don't want money they can go ahead and let the people come in and develop it with private money."
PENCE DEFENDS HIS right to get involved in government when he thinks something is wrong and denies some people's allegations that he is a power broker and tries to exert his influence in the city.
"Once you become mayor you're marked for life, but being mayor of this city is just a little more important than the other commissioners, but you still only have one vote."
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