And the West is History: Schluter/Klahn Family at cabbage patch – ca. 1903

Sophie Schluter and her husband, Fred, founded Schluter Floral in 1885. In addition to flowers, they grew vegetables, particularly cabbage, on their leased property. The vegetable patch grew where the Durango Fish Hatchery is now. Note the steeple of St. Columba in the background. Sophie is the woman with the hat on. Her son August and his wife, Marie, are to the right. On the left is her other son, Emil. When Fred died in 1911, Sophie ran the business until she died in 1933. Her two sons took over, with Emil selling his interest to his brother within a few years. Sophie’s direct descendants owned Schluter Floral until it was sold in 1978, though her great-great-granddaughter, Mary Jeanne Brittain, managed the business until 2006.– Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum (Catalog Number: 23.54.619 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)