PORTSMOUTH- For more than 100 years, the Kirby Family, of Kirby’s Flowers, has been proving that patience is a flower that grows in their garden, working hard to provide a service born from love and passion for a community that has grown to expect them on the corner of Findlay and Gallia during momentous occasions.

Most people who walk into Kirby’s Flowers can recount the same story as others, as Kirby’s is a business of constants. A Kirby owns the store. Elisa is the third-generational owner and Jonni is the fourth. Elisa is always there ready to help, smartly dressed and with a smile alongside her friendly pet, Madelynn Rose. The quality and care in their products always remain top notch. The dedication to the historical property, as well as ornate window dressings, is always there.

“Every morning, when I wake up, I say ‘Good morning, God; I’m coming to do your service by serving your community with gifts of affection.’ I’ve worked here since I was twelve years old, when I started working after school and on Saturdays,” Elisa Kirby-Valli explained. “The goal is, and always has been, to service the community through their flower needs and gifts.”

Now, more than ever, Kirby-Valli has proven that owning a family business this old is more than selling goods to a community, balancing books and placing orders, and cleaning shop—it is about being the caretaker of a family legacy proudly rooted in service to others, as well as the importance of the history behind that legacy.

As testimony of this dedication, and a display of extreme love and patience, Kirby-Valli has been wrapping up a project two years in the making.

The project was that of the restoration to the unique façade that many people have grown to love but may not realize the significance behind it or the complexities of caring after its maintenance.

The façade is an instantly recognizable tan and burgundy pattern Vitrolite made of a historic material that was once touted as the “architectural darling” of the 1920’s and 1930’s. What was once seen as the modern and elegant approach to design, the glass has now become antique and hard to find, as it ceased production after the manufacturer of Vitrolite and Carrara ceased operations nearly a century ago.

The recent need to care for the ornate glass came after a devastating storm left damage behind to many local properties. One of the victims of that storm was the historic Kirby’s Flowers building, which suffered from scratched and Vitrolite glass after the awning was torn from the building and sent bashing into the façade multiple times.

Kirby-Valli had struggled in 2008 to make repairs to the same glass after extreme water damage left her searching the world and “making thousands of calls” to find a way to restore the façade. That search eventually led her to Tim Dunn, a Vitrolite specialist who saves the material from buildings before they are razed and then uses them to restore other properties.

When the recent damage occurred, Elisa was relieved to know who to go to, but she faced an entirely new problem. The appropriate shade of Vitrolite is even harder to locate now than it was three presidents ago.

The two began communicating for months and months, sending samples back and forth for comparison.

Despite this struggle, the temptation of finding an easier, cheaper solution never crossed the property owner’s mind. Afterall, the face of the store is not only important to the historical integrity of downtown, but it is a testimony to her family legacy and, as caretaker of this legacy, she could not underdeliver. It isn’t the Kirby way.

“My grandfather took pride in finding the Vitrolite and making the building a beautiful piece of the downtown historic fabric,” Kirby-Valli said. “When we have struggled to find the Vitrolite, and make repairs, I remember my dad always saying ‘Good things come to those who wait.’ I searched the world over to find Tim Dunn at Vitrolite Specialists in Missouri and learned he had the right color and type of Vitrolite glass to put my grandparents’ building back to the same historical integrity it had in the 1920’s. That was very important to me; I was not going to stop at ‘no’ and take an easier option to restore the building.”

Kirby-Valli recalled patience being a virtue of her family. She claimed that the business that everyone now expects in the heart of downtown, started out of her grandparents’ home on Robinson. Her grandfather was an employee of Selby Shoe Company and would help his wife sell flowers from the rear of their home while not putting in hours at the factory. They would eventually move to a location one block west, near the LeRoy Theatre before the property they would eventually call home opened and he leaped to purchase it. Once he owned it, he was quick to dress it into something special, adorning it with the Vitrolite glass that is now so important to Kirby-Valli, and begin the traditions that continue today.

With the dreams of her grandfather resting on her shoulders, Kirby-Valli started the process of tracking down options for repair once again, with the same fervor and refusal to say no as before.

Once the glass found a match, Kirby-Valli scheduled a repair with the St. Louis preservationist immediately and only recently finished the job of preserving the face of her legacy a second time.

Along with the renovations, Kirby-Valli also recently remodeled the canopy. After the storm damage, the awning clearly needed just as much love as the façade. She hired Capital City Awning, of Columbus, to recreate the front awning. She also added retractable awnings. The work is something Kirby-Valli is proud of and even stated that the work was submitted for an architectural award, which it won.

“My family has owned this building for over 100 years and grandpa would be proud that we continue to keep it in that same shape and condition as when he bought it and put his love into it,” Kirby-Valli said. “I hope it goes on for another 100 years. “

While the community will continue to depend on Kirby’s Flowers for holiday gifts, weddings, funerals, birthdays, anniversaries and other momentous occasions, Elisa says she will continue to shepherd the future of her family legacy.

To learn more about the business, to see cute pictures of Madelynn Rose, and to see their improvements, visit them at 923 Gallia Street or online at www.kirbysflower.com