January ll, 1900. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



483 



SOCIETY OF 

 AMERICAN FLORISTS. 



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PRESIDENT'S APPOINTMENTS. 



Ed. Florists' Eeview: — I take pleas- 

 ure in announcing to you that on 

 January 1, I shall appoint on the execu- 

 tive committee of the S. A. F. & O. H, 

 the following gentlemen: Philip J. 

 jiauswirth, of Chicago, and Prank H. 

 Traendly, of New York, for the full 

 term, and H. H. Ritter, of Dayton, O., 

 to fill the unexpired term of H. M. Al- 

 tick. 



I would like to have you hold off until 

 the second week in January before you 

 publish this announcement, their photo- 

 graphs or anything else, * * * as I 

 want all to have it the second week in 

 January and not before. I trust that 

 you will comply with my wishes. 



Wm. F. Kasting, President-Elect. 



Dec. 30, 1905. 



PRESIDENT KASTING. 



William F. Kasting is one of the 

 youngest men who have ever held the 

 presidency of the Society of American 

 Florists, to which he was elected in 

 Washington last Augus*t, the term of 

 office beginning January 1, 1906. He is 

 a leader of the younger element in the 

 society, that portion of the membership 

 which has been accused of finding its 

 principal interest in the sports, but Pres- 

 ident Kasting declares that it shall be 

 proven in the present year that the 

 young men are as deeply interested in 

 the welfare of the society as are the 

 older heads, and that he will show how 

 the young men can hustle. "Old men 

 for counsel; young men for work." The 

 personal popularity which, won for Mr. 

 Kasting the election at Washington will 

 place him free of all necessity for com- 

 plaint as to the half-heartedness of his 

 support. 



Mr. Kasting was born in Germany, at 

 Sachsenhausen, July 27, 1870. The fam- 

 ily removed to this country in his youth 

 and lived for a time at St. Louis. For 

 practically all his life he has been en- 

 gaged in the florists* business. For 

 twenty years he has been in the trade, 

 for eight years in the greenhouse end as 

 a grower, and for twelve years in the 

 wholesale business. It was in 1894 that 

 Mr. Kasting went to work for Daniel B. 

 Long, then in the wholesale cut flower 

 and supply business at Buffalo. It was 

 a modest establishment on Washington 

 street, and in two years the young man, 

 for he was then only 26 years old, had 

 acquired enough experience and had sav- 

 ings enough to buy out the place. The 

 new proprietor being possessed of the 

 faculty of getting there, the business 

 began to grow. Soon larger quarters 

 were needed, and only a year or so ago 

 another move was made, to a building 

 fnee used as a theater, the entire place 

 l»eing occupied, and his interests have 

 multiplied. 



But only a small part of Mr. Kast- 

 jng's energy has been employed in gain- 

 ing his business success. Prior to his 

 flection to the presidency of the S. A. F. 

 lie was successively financial secretary. 



treasurer and president of the Buffalo 

 Florists' Club; vice-president of the 

 American Carnation Society, and vice- 

 president of the S. A. F. At both the 

 conventions held in Buffalo he was chair- 

 man of the ways and means committee, 

 whose duty it was to raise the money 

 and manage the entertainment. Speak- 

 ing of raising money, were it not still so 

 fresh in mind, his exploit in raising some 

 thousands of dollars for the German 

 hospital at Buffalo would merit special 

 mention; a bazaar was given and Mr. 

 Kasting, as chairman of the ways and 

 means committee, sold tickets over a 

 wider range of territory than was proba- 

 bly ever done for a similar affair. 



In the political life of Buffalo, as well 

 as in its business and charitable affairs, 

 Mr. Kasting has taken a leading part. 



candidate for the mayoralty, but they 

 say in Buffalo that such is not Mr. Kast- 

 ing 's ambition. He says he is wholly 

 without such a thing, politically, but that 

 nuist be taken in the same sense, 

 politically, for if you get the confidence 

 of certain politicians in Buffalo they 

 will tell you that they are going to send 

 Billy to congress some day. Mr. Kast- 

 ing does not believe in embarrassing his 

 friends by refusal when they try to 

 thrust desirable things upon him, and if 

 he wants to go to congress he will prob- 

 ably go out and pick the plum when it is 

 ripe. Among the other evidences of his 

 ability to get what he wants, he has a 

 charming wife, and they have a young 

 hopeful who promises to have all his 

 father's energy and good nature. 



PHILIP J. HAUSWIRTH. 



It is not at all unlikely that in ap- 

 pointing P. J. Hauswirth on the S. A. F. 

 board of directors. President Kasting has 

 selected the man of all others in busi- 

 ness who has the widest personal ac- 

 quaintance throughout the trade. Mr. 

 Hauswirth is president of the Chicago 

 Florists' Club and bears a most active 

 part in all local horticultural affairs. 

 He has for more years than most of the 



William F. Kasting. 



He has served the city as park commis- 

 sioner, and two years ago he ran for 

 county treasurer on the democratic 

 ticket. He was defeated, but he ran 4,000 

 votes ahead of his ticket. Now, the 

 man who at any election runs ahead of a 

 defeated ticket is his party's logical 



members remember been a regular at- 

 tendant at S. A. F. conventions, and 

 usually in charge of the bowling. He 

 has also traveled widely with several fra- 

 ternal societies and never fails to call 

 on the florists wherever he may go, so 

 that his store in the Auditorium Annex 



