Egon & Laina bought the 20-yr “Woodinville Greenhouses” from Ashley and Louise Nicholas at just the right time in 1956, as post-WWII USA began to urbanize at a rapid pace, increasing the demand for landscape plants. They adapted their cut flower business to ride the wave even as they helped to stir it. Egon purportedly was the first to develop a method to grow Chrysanthemums in nursery pots and not just as cut flowers, and even played a large part in the creation of the Sweet 100 cherry tomato. Starting out as strictly wholesale, they eventually gave in to demand for retail a little at a time until it became the largest source of their income. They expanded their footprint significantly in a matter of 20 years, became regionally and nationally recognized as the largest in the NW for vast selection, high quality product, and knowledgeable staff, and won countless awards over the company’s 67-year lifespan. Molbak’s became synonymous with Woodinville.
But this did not happen overnight, nor were Egon & Laina (as they themselves admitted) incredibly savvy businesspeople. Besides being good at growing plants, they were were just good people. They were very active in the public sphere, frequently participating in local politics, planning and charity well before Woodinville was incorporated in 1993. Quoting from the Nomination submitted to the Landmarks Commission (written by Sarah Martin):
"Egon was active in the Bothell Chamber of Commerce and the Northshore Chamber of Commerce, receiving its first Man of the Year award (1975). He served on the Bothell Planning Commission, the Forward Thrust Committee, and the Metro Transit Committee. He was a charter member of the Northshore Rotary Club and served a term as its president. He was one of eight founders of the Scholarship Foundation of Northshore in 1984, and he and Laina established the Molbak Service Above Self Scholarship. Both Egon and Laina were supporters of cultural and arts organizations. Laina was an active fundraiser and volunteer for numerous area organizations, including Seattle Children’s Hospital, Planned Parenthood, and F.I.S.H., an Episcopalian social service organization. She was instrumental in the push to create the YWCA’s Family Village for homeless women and children in Redmond. She served more than 30 years as an advisory board member at the University of Washington’s Department of Scandinavian Studies. She was a member of the Women’s University Club and the Northwest Danish Association.”
Annually, their business generously gave the city of Bothell a large number of hanging baskets for the city’s beautification project for many years. In Woodinville, the Wilmot Gateway park (the city’s first community park opened in 1999) was named after Jerry Wilmot, one of Molbak’s CEOs in the 70s, and one of the city’s most active constituents, playing a key role in the incorporation of the city. Jerry died of Lou Gehrig’s in 1995. Just to point out how significant Jerry's contributions were, his story is included among plaques on the park campus commemorating Woodinville historical big players like the DeYoung family.
In everything they did, Egon & Laina intentionally set out to cultivate neighborly connection, celebrate the arts, herald the wholesomeness of gardening, and seek greater sustainable practices. Let's carry that legacy forward for even more generations to learn, grow, and connect to the betterment of society.