Growing the Business
During the decades of the 50s and 60s the Mezitts divided their areas of concentration: Peter oversaw production and sales while Ed concentrated on harvesting, mechanization and developing new plants. Wally and Anna continued to run the office. Wayne and Roger participated during their school years in various areas of the nursery, and after graduating from college, joined the staff full time in 1966 and 1970, respectively, and nursery expansion continued. Anna passed away in 1961 and Peter in 1968. Wayne married Elizabeth Pickering in 1965 and they raised a family of four children. Roger married Merylyn Jerome in 1972.
As his two sons became more involved in the business, Ed was able to spend his time concentrating on new plant development. Upon his death in 1986, Wayne and Roger assumed leadership of the company with Wayne as president and Roger as treasurer and chairman of the board.
Through the 70s and 80s the nursery continued to expand as the Mezitts purchased adjoining land as it became available until the nursery encompassed over 900 acres. During this time, many production methods changed, largely in response to competition and escalating costs. Container growing expanded in importance, and winter storage of above ground plants became more sophisticated. Plastic-covered greenhouse structures were built to store these plants during the winter. The repair garage, built in 1954, was doubled in size. More ponds were dug and a nursery-wide irrigation network tying together all the ponds and collecting runoff water was developed. Field work formerly done by hand became mechanized, including most aspects of transplanting, maintaining and harvesting of crops.
To keep up with increasing amounts of paperwork, the nursery began to install a computer system in 1982. This crowded an already outgrown office building and a new location for office space was badly needed. A fire in the summer of 1981 had gutted the barn used to store burlap, and in 1983 the main office was moved from its 1950s location across the shipping yard to fill the top two floors of the renovated building. The nursery also opened a wholesale yard behind the retail garden center to accommodate cash-and-carry wholesale customers.
In 1996, Peter W. Mezitt joined the company, making Weston Nurseries a 4th generation business. At the turn of the century, the company grew plants on over 600 acres, had 30 acres of container production, and 20 acres of selling space, with an additional 250 acres in surrounding woodland. Employment reached 240 people at peak seasons with 40 year round employees. Immigrant workers from outside the U. S. made up the majority of the seasonal workforce. Thousands of employees have participated in the growth and success of Weston Nurseries, and we have been very fortunate to have many devoted employees who have worked at the nursery for most of their working lives.