Mike Rohrer, who joined the Ephrata store in January as a driver, was delivering flowers to a woman at the Brethren Village retirement community in Lititz.
“It’s my birthday,” the woman said expectantly, “and you’re going to sing to me, aren’t you?”
“I said, ‘You bet I am!” Rohrer recalled. “How could you pass that up?”
Singing birthday greetings has become Rohrer’s calling card.
Rohrer, 66, was born and raised in Manheim, Lancaster County. He spent 32 years as a Christian school administrator, first in Lititz and recently in southern Maryland.
The pandemic prompted him and his wife, Becky, to move to Ephrata and closer to family. They have three grown children; they are “Mimi” and “Poppy” to six grandchildren.
It was Becky who spotted the Royer’s job opening.
“She said, ‘I think you’d really like this job,’“ Rohrer said. “And you know what? She was right. I love the job.”
Rohrer has made it his mission to deliver kindness to customers along with rose bouquets. Of course, challenges exist, from slow traffic (including horse and buggy travelers) to hard-to-find house numbers to growling dogs.
But that doesn’t deter Rohrer.
“There’s a little verse in the Bible that says something like this: Be kind to one another,” Rohrer said. “And on any given day, I’m going to meet people who maybe have had a bad day. Maybe they’ve had a good day. Maybe they have health problems. Maybe they have financial problems. Maybe there’s problems with their families.
“I look at it as kind of a ministry to try to help meet their needs by making them have a good, fun day,” he said.
Rohrer works approximately 30 hours per week, typically making 20 to 25 deliveries each day.
‘It’s somebody’s birthday’
On a recent Tuesday morning, his first shift comprised five stops in Ephrata. First, he pulled up alongside parked cars on a narrow street, turned on his flashers, and slid the side door open. No one was home to accept the snack basket.
The second stop took him to Elite Coach, a charter bus company, where he delivered a Tranquility arrangement to a woman in the office. Next, he brought mixed flowers in a vase to a woman who said she was celebrating her 42nd wedding anniversary.
“Hey, I’ve got you beat,” Roher said in fun. “This year’s my 46th!”
The fourth stop brought him to a neighborhood where many of the streets are named after American presidents. This recipient lived on Garfield Drive.
The typed printout on Mike’s clipboard noted that it was a birthday delivery. Lest there be any doubt, “B-DAY” was handwritten and circled in pink highlighter.
“It looks like it’s somebody’s birthday,” Rohrer said to the woman answering his six knocks on the door. “Is it your birthday?”
“It’s my birthday, thank you!” she said, accepting the Jewel arrangement.
Without missing a beat, Roher broke into song.
“Happy Birthday to you-u-u!” he crooned.