Porvaznik’s Flowers has celebrated and marked milestones with people in the Panther Valley and beyond for more than a century.

Birthdays, holidays, proms, weddings and anniversaries – the shop in downtown Lansford has seen them all.

Now, the owner of the West Ridge Street landmark asks the community to celebrate with her as the shop marks its 125th year.

Megan Andersen took over the business in 1990, after working in flower shops in the Philadelphia area and opening her own shop in Montgomery County with her sister-in-law.

Andersen bought from Joe Porvaznik, whose family operated the shop and greenhouses for 92 years.

And Andersen never imagined changing the name, which people had come to know and rely upon as they marked the special occasions in their lives or mourned and remembered lost loved ones.

The shop’s story began before the turn of the last century in 1898, when the founder, Michael Porvaznik, was given a loan of $1,000 to start a floral shop in Lansford.

His benefactor was W.C. Zehner, a coal company superintendent who had a mansion and small greenhouse in Edgemont. He had hired Porvaznik, who had studied horticulture, to tend the grounds and gardens.

Recognizing his talent, Zehner gave Porvaznik the seed money to begin his own business, which took root, grew and blossomed. His sons joined the business that began on East Abbott Street.

Greenhouses would follow – and in 1955, the shop moved downtown to 42 W. Ridge St., just a few doors down from Bright’s Department Store, where it remains today.

Andersen, who like Michael studied horticulture, used Porvaznik’s to send her grandmothers in Lansford and Coaldale flowers during the holidays.

The shop was now in the hands of Joseph Porvaznik, the third generation of Porvazniks in the flower business.

Joseph Porvaznik had worked with his brother, Michael III, and their mother, Helen, in the shop. He bought the business from his mother in 1978, and decided to retire when she passed in 1990.

Joseph Porvaznik asked Andersen if she would be interested in a business opportunity. She and her husband, Bruce, had always wanted to move to the country, Andersen said, and decided to buy the well-established shop.

“So, we made the move up here and it’s been great,” she said. “It was an easy transition.”

They actually moved into the house and original shop location at 33 E. Abbott St., where the first greenhouse was built, she said.

The Andersens saw the shop’s 100th anniversary in the community, and in their third decade, the business’ 125th anniversary.

Andersen has considered retirement herself, but wants to ensure the business continues as a fixture in the Panther Valley where it began.

She would like to give someone else the opportunity that the business’ founder and she herself was given, to start and grow a business.

Coming off the Easter holiday, Andersen will begin gearing up for prom, then Mother’s Day – which are a week apart this year, she said. Then, it’ll be Memorial Day and right into summer wedding season, she said.

But before the next rush for flowers, Andersen welcomes the community to celebrate Porvaznik’s 125th anniversary from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday. The open house will feature wine, hors d’oeuvres, music, prizes and giveaways.