PEORIA MAGAZINE June 2022

He seemed to instinctively know that “people will go to a place they trust” and that they “want authentic,” whichmade the Heights and its mom-and-pop vibe the perfect place for him to be. It also didn’t hurt that in terms of drive-by traffic, it was hard to beat his corner spot at War Memorial and Faber. Still, arguably that little flower shop could have been plopped down anywhere, and customers still would have sought it out for that personal touch. Indeed, what’s the perfect f lower arrangement for the Feast of the Annunciation at a local Catholic church? You’re unlikely to run across anyonewho has a clue about that at the nearest big box store — but at Gregg, Callahan and crewwere able towhip something up in a jiffy. Lilies and roses, at your service In fact, Callahan has gotten to know his customers sowell over the years that many just trust him to “do your thing,” whatever the occasion – weddings, funerals, proms, graduations, you name it. Indeed, unlike just about everything else these days, expressing yourself with flowers is a politically neutral way to convey just the right emotion for the moment, “joy, sorrow ... the things that are just part of everyday life. “It’s not just another commodity,” he said. “It’s what you do with it” that makes the difference, in a way that “just masses of blooms” cannot. There would be other challenges, of course. In the late 1980s and ‘90s, businesses that once wined and dined clients and showed their appreciation to employees for their work and career milestones began to cut back. Then, in 2020 came the granddaddy of them all – COVID-19. It stung personally to not be considered an “essential business,” but locking the doors for four months didn’t boost the bottom line, either, even for a business that had been doing “contactless delivery” for decades. “We got over that bridge, too,” said Callahan. Over the years, technology changed everything. Online orders have reduced

it upon themselves to make it happen. As is typical of Callahan, he gives credit to others for the “miracle” they pulled off “with style and sustainabil ity,” but he lent a significant hand, as well, and continues to. All in all, his “retirement,” if you can call it that, is “less traumatic than I thought it would be. “I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Forty-four years of having a small business, there’s not been much breathing room.” So Callahan can exhale now and truly smell the flowers. For many sad customers, it’s the end of an era. What made it special? Longtime customer, friend, neighbor and Peoria City Councilwoman Beth Jensen doesn’t hesitate. “I’d say it’s Dan himself,” she said. “He’s a genuine people person who cares ... who listens…who remembers” every personal tale and darn near every arrangement he’s sold to that person and for what occasion. Meanwhile, he’s a constant presence and leader and peacemaker in theMoss neighborhood, the bridge between its past and present, a worker who inspires by example with the kind of energy and action “that keep the neighborhood strong,” said Jensen. “If it weren’t for him, I don’t think the Greenway would still be there. He’s so dedicated.” Peoria has had its ups and downs, Callahan has witnessed many of them, but he’s proud of this place and wants to continue to be a part of making it better in ways that “lift the spirits” and allow its residents to say, “’I’m going to stick it out. Hold on. Things will get better.’ “I went away. I had a choice of where to go,” he reminisces. But this community’s manageable size and the opportunities it presented tomake a personal difference were “theheart ofwhat keptme inPeoria. “Peoria is real.” And Callahan is among those real deals who have helped make it so.

in-person visits. Still, the face-to-face interactions that remain are what makes Callahan and his dozen or so employees “so reluctant to give it up.” Nonetheless, he is accepting. First, he’s never regretted his decision to walk away from architecture, much as his appreciation for it remains. From “the joy of design without having someone’s life depend on it” to “dealing with people’s transitions and trying to talk them through all of that,” running Gregg Florist has been a privilege, he says. He’s also not exactly walking off into the sunset. “I’m going to be around…I don’t have to be at that counter for people to find me,” Callahan said. Indeed, he is active and then some in his Moss Avenue neighborhood. He’s become a one-man maintenance and beautification crew of his beloved Malvern Lane, upon which his Tudor Revival-style home is the only address. No one waxes more eloquently or romantically about that early 19th century, now-closed-to-vehicles, brick and-limestone connection between Peoria’s West Bluff and its South Side valley than Callahan, who can go on and on about everything that springs from its hillside, from the now-spent bluebells to the Dame’s Rocket to the false Solomon’s seal. Meanwhile, he tends to the gardens at Westminster Church. And, of course, there is simply no end to the weeds that need to be pulled and the monuments placed and the flowers to be planted on the Western Avenue Greenway that so distinguishes his neighborhood and the people who took

Mike Bailey is editor in chief of Peoria Magazine

JUNE 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 21