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Stein family memorabilia

donated to the museum

We recently received a large dona-
tion of Stein family memorabilia at
the museum, and some of the stories
associated with the family are very
interesting. Howard Stein Sr. (1901-
1991) grew up on his family farm in
Canton at Michigan and Haggerty. He
began growing vegetables in his fa-
ther’s greenhouse and eventually
started growing flowers too.
Around 1922 he began what be-
came known as Stein’s flower shop.
When the new theater building was
built in Wayne in 1927 Stein opened
a shop in Wayne just two shops
down from the ticket booth.
Harold married Irene Quacken-
bush in 1923 and they would have
three children, Audrey, Howard Jr.
and Peter. Stein’s flower shop would
become a Wayne staple through the
1950s. Mr. Stein was a founding
member of the Wayne Kiwanis club,
and a founder of Wayne Bank.
Howard Jr., known informally as
"Bud" would graduate from Wayne
High School in 1943 and immedi- Phyllis and Bud Stein
ately joined the Army Air Corps for neral and Church flowers were their
WW2. After training in Miami, he bread-and-butter sellers. The shop
was stationed as a B-29 bomber and greenhouses employed 18 peo-
radar operator on the island of Tin- ple and covered 40,000 square feet.
ian in the pacific theater. While on a Outside of flowers Bud was in-
bombing raid over Japan his plane volved with the Chamber of Com-
was hit by flak and going down. The merce, Jaycees and in the Wayne
pilots radioed a nearby submarine Rotary Club for many years. In 1984
and got as close to it as possible be- after running the family business for
fore bailing out and letting the plane 35 years Bud sold Stein’s Flowers to
crash in the sea. Bud was one of only Keller Florist Inc. and it became
3 survivors of the 11-man crew of Keller & Stein Florist, which still ex-
that plane. ists but not at the Michigan Avenue
The submarine USS Toro picked property.
them up out of the sea and the men Bud and Phyllis would travel ex-
had to live on the sub for a month be- tensively in retirement, including
fore it came back to Tinian. At the back to Tinian to revisit his WW2
end of the war Bud went to Michigan sites. Bud also created a unique
State for a degree in Horticulture so mock Indian village behind his home
he could take over the family busi- in Canton and was active in an old-
ness. While there he met Phyllis and timer’s investment group and coffee
they married, and they would have klatch. He was also one of the found-
three sons. ing donors of the WW2 memorial in
In 1954 the Wayne flower shop Washington DC. Howard "Bud" Stein
was closed and all operations moved Jr. died in 2004 after a heart attack.
back to the family farm in Canton His wife Phyllis passed away just last
which had been expanded and re- year. Many in Wayne remember a
built. At the time flowers for arrange- trip to Stein’s Flowers or likely re-
ments accounted for 80% of sales, ceived an arrangement from them.
and the Steins grew most of what Wayne still has a florist if you're
they needed on-site, with a few im- in the market, Flowers in the Mitten
ports from Florida and California. at the Makers Market, 34852 Michi-
Centerpieces, corsages, wedding, fu- gan Ave.

The Wayne Dispatch · September 2025 · 5