They let people know 

 ^ Windham had re-opened- 

 W they advertised — in the 



Windham Independent, 



the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune (the 

 area's largest paper), the Derry 

 News, and the Manchester Union 

 Leader. 



They got a new sign, on which 

 they can announce their weekly 

 specials. They started a mailing 

 list — which now numbers 500 — 

 ;md send out a quarterly newsletter. 



Working with Videotroupe in 

 Windham, Doug developed a 

 thirty-second videotape that was 

 shown on cable TV. The theme 

 was "Seasons change and so have 

 we," and showed a series of quick 

 shots to a background of "upbeat 

 music." It was shown on three 

 stations — ESPN, Lifetime, and 

 CNN — during the prime viewing 

 time of 7-10 in the evening during 

 the spring and fall. The commer- 

 cial "wasn't that expensive" — it 

 cost $2000 to shoot and $6000 to 

 air and seemed to really help busi- 



ness — "There were a lot of com- 

 ments from people. Some were old 

 customers who didn't know if we 

 were still in business; a lot were 

 new customers. It was definitely 

 worth it." When the commercial's 

 on, they cut back on the newspaper 

 advertising. 



THE PROJECTS continue. 

 ^ Inside, the area between 

 ^ the gift shop and garden 

 center — the original green- 

 house when the business first 

 started — is being walled with sheet 

 rock and will become a room tor 

 the display of seasonal merchan- 

 dise. An ongoing project is "re-ar- 

 ranging the lobby. Each time a 

 customer comes in, there will be 

 something different there." 



Brian Delahunty (son of Joe, 

 the former owner) is in charge ot 

 grounds and equipment, but be- 

 tween everything else, he's forcing 

 a few pans of bulbs this year. If they 

 blossom and sell, he'll grow more 

 next year. And at the edge of the 



nursery area are the five unused 

 quonset houses. The plastic is 

 gone, but the frames are still solid. 

 Who knows? Doug and Brian may 

 be growing bedding plants next 

 year. 



"By the end of last summer, 

 things began to look better. We 

 were starting to get repeat custom- 

 ers — we felt this was a sign we'd 

 turned the comer." 



The business is working to re- 

 establish itself as part of the com- 

 munity — last year, for example, 

 trees were donated to the town for 

 the common. They give plants and 

 baskets to rise money for local 

 churches and causes. And Tracy 

 (originally from Salem) and Doug 

 are building a home in Windham. 

 "Once people realize we're part of 

 the community, people will believe 

 Windham Nurseries is here to stay." 



Doug and Tracy are at Windham 

 Nurseries, 41 Range Road, Route 

 111, Windham, NH. The telephone 

 is (603) 893-7155. 



Wre 

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