Chandler Apling, 18, of Faribault, has spent the past few weeks collecting artifacts from the Farmer Seed and Nursery that’s being demolished. (Colton Kemp/southernminn.com)
Chandler Apling and his parents commonly visited the Farmer Seed and Nursery during the holidays. He recovered this display from the abandoned building. (Photo courtesy of Chandler Apling)
Chandler Apling, 18, of Faribault, has spent the past few weeks collecting artifacts from the Farmer Seed and Nursery that’s being demolished. (Colton Kemp/southernminn.com)
Some old cigar boxes were pulled out of the Farmer Seed and Nursery by Chandler Apling. (Photo courtesy of Chandler Apling)
A seed catalogue was recovered from the ruins of the Farmer Seed and Nursery. (Photo courtesy of Chandler Apling)
Chandler Apling bought this display at the garage sale. (Photo courtesy of Chandler Apling)
Chandler Apling and his parents commonly visited the Farmer Seed and Nursery during the holidays. He recovered this display from the abandoned building. (Photo courtesy of Chandler Apling)
Among the items recovered from the building were some seed packets with the Farmer Seed and Nursery logo. (Photo courtesy of Chandler Apling)
Chandler Apling has some vague memories of visiting the Farmer Seed and Nursery every spring and Christmas season with his parents.
The 18-year-old was among the onlookers who watched pieces of the building come down on Friday.
Born and raised in Faribault, Apling has always been intrigued with Faribault’s history.
“I started collecting stuff on my own, not just Farmer Seed stuff, but Faribault stuff in general,” he said. “I’d go into the woods and find some old bottles and stuff. That’s what got me interested into the history of Faribault.”
The bottles he found were from Marigold Dairies, a milk company that was in Faribault before its merger with Kemps Ice Cream and Crescent Creamery. He said his parents enjoy the Farmer Seed stuff he’s brought home, considering the business was a “very memorable part of (their) lives.”
“It’s been there since before my parents were born,” he said. “Also, as a kid, I went to Farmer Seed with my grandpapa a lot to get wood chips for his yard. My dad bought my mom a barefoot flower tree from there. My grandma used to make the Seed potatoes. My mom and my grandma bought hamsters from there in the mid ‘80s.”
When he found out that some items from the Faribault Farmer Seed and Nursery building were up for sale, he was sure to stop by and buy some for himself. As he looked around, he sparked up a conversation with Matt Leister, one of the people selling the recovered items.
Leister introduced him to Brian Schmidt, the board chair at the Rice County Historical Society who also has been collecting items of historical value from building. Schmidt invited Apling to take a look around inside and see what sort of things he could find.
Among the items Apling recovered were Christmas displays, seed catalogues, vintage signs, mail and even a floor plan.
As much as he loves the history of the building, he thinks it was time for it to go.
“I guess it’s just the best for it because of how many repairs are needed,” he said. “It’d probably take quite a bit of money to fix it. So I’d say it’s for the best. This way, they can have more growth in Faribault and newer stuff.”
