Since 1986, Flowers by Elaine has stood over the quaint town of Wedowee, serving as a beacon for passersby, signaling that they have entered Small Town USA. The charming shop has stayed up to date throughout the years, longstanding yet ever-evolving.
Holidays are prime time for Flowers by Elaine. The shop sends out 1,600 roses every Valentine's Day and gives each child at Wedowee Elementary a balloon. Come Christmas, they make dozens of special cemetery arrangements and cut bouquets, delivering them with care to those unable to be with their loved ones – bringing the warmth and comfort of the holidays.
What started as a dream for McCain has become a staple for all in times of need. For those who love, for those who have lost and for those who need prayer.
Raised in a home with a service station and a beauty shop, McCain watched her parents work hard. Growing up in a business family, she began teaching piano at a young age and saved enough money to buy her own car before she graduated from high school. McCain went on to cosmetology school, but when she visited her aunt in Huntsville, she found a love that would shape the rest of her life and touch many others.
"I would go up there on weekends and watch what they did," McCain remembered. "I was a hands-on type with piano and beauty shops, so I thought, 'I can do that."
After consulting her aunt about being a flower shop owner, McCain learned it would take a lot. She would have to work on weekends, and long hours would take her away from her family.
Still, McCain had a vision.
She continued to work at her aunt's shop, and she learned the tricks of the trade. Just six years after she married her husband, Jimmy, her dream became a reality. Jimmy found a vacant building in Wedowee and helped her open her own flower shop.
Knowing she would dedicate much of her life to her trade, McCain opened her doors and learned quickly it wouldn't be easy.
"On the very first day we opened, Randolph County High School called and ordered 85 corsages for Homecoming," she said. "The thing was, I didn't know how to make corsages."
McCain desperately called her aunt for advice.
"She said, 'I can teach you that, but I can't teach that over the phone," McCain remembered.
So, it was back to Huntsville for a quick lesson in corsage-making.
Thankfully, McCain made it back to Wedowee in time to make those corsages. Flowers by Elaine saved the day, but it wouldn't be the first time.
Over the years, Flowers by Elaine has provided flowers for hundreds of weddings and countless funerals.
Dozens of businesses have come and gone from Main Street, but Flowers by Elaine remains.
"I think you have to be a really good manager, business manager, along with knowing how to do flowers. That comes in there, too," McCain humbly expressed.
But there is more to owning a flower shop than selling flowers and tying bows. McCain said she was given advice that has stuck with her over the years: Always give people their money's worth and always be positive and upbeat.
"You have to listen to people's stories and be sympathetic with what's going on in their lives and put them first before yourself," McCain said. "I have people come in and say, 'Please pray for me.' And I say, 'Okay, how about right now?' And I pray with them. I have always been a prayer person."
The dedication to her customers has been a mainstay. Even while on vacation, McCain said she and Jimmy would sometimes have to turn the car around because someone in town had passed away. With a positive attitude, Elaine said her husband always understood and would say, "We can go another time."
For many years, McCain's mother, Adean Hadley, was by her side. With a beauty shop in the back of the business, Hadley spent her days talking with customers and helping McCain deliver flowers between haircuts.
"She came to work down there every day with me," McCain said. "She was with me a lot of time, so I got to spend a lot of time with my mother."
Although her aunt warned her that if she opened a flower shop, she wouldn't have a life, McCain said the flower shop is her life, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
"The thing is, when you come home and you're just by yourself, you're ready to go back the next morning and see people and smile and be positive and there is no depression when you're with people," said McCain. "So, it's a good thing, you know, to keep your friends and your customers and all that. They keep you going."
While she no longer has her mother and husband, Elaine is thankful for the relationships she has formed over the years. This Christmas, she wants everyone to know, with good friends and God, a day's work is a blessing.
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