As written by James A. Lappan, Sr.

I have always liked things neat and orderly.  Cutting lawns and offering other landscape related services had seemed to have some career possibilities.  So in 1975 I bought a lawn tractor and all the equipment needed to start a lawn care business.  At the time my wife Barb and I had been married three years and had just moved to Gaylord for her new teaching position.  I had a trailer custom made for the equipment and I was 'in business'.  Talking has never been a problem for me, thanks to my mother.  Friends and customers always gave me the incentive to move forward as well as sharing some wonderful relationships.

Without a doubt those personal and business relationships allowed me to believe in myself even when my family wondered why 'I didn't get a job' when in fact I had always felt I was building my career.  I took most everything related to business very serious and enjoyed feeling important owning a business, if only to myself.

The years have had many ups and downs, but during it all my stead-fast supporter, my wife Barb, was always there through the good and the bad.  She has been my most ardent critic, even when I really didn't want her advice. 

Like any parent it was my aspiration to offer or see to it that my sons had an opportunity to improve their lives with a good job and security.  As I spent countless hours building Lappan's over the years it was always 'the business' that took time away from being a dad and husband.  It bothered me to leave after dinner and not getting back home until after the boys had gone to bed for the night.  Looking back now, each one of my sons have learned a solid work ethic and the rewards that they have gained by their dads hard work.  Each son has made strides in their lives because of thier relationship with Lappan's. 

Our eldest son Jim is our office manager and wears many other hats, but is most active with outdoor power equipment.  Jim is Vice President, part owner and is very involved in the day to day office operations.  Jim and his wife Tiahia live with their daughters Sophia Margaret and Emma Jeanne enjoy the pace of the North.  

Barb Lappan, retired from education in the spring of 2006 and has joined the every day schedule at Lappan's.  She brings a great deal of organizational skills and the desire to improve all that we offer at Lappan's.  Along with substitute teaching and sharing life with our seven grand children Barb stays active year round.  In the fall of 2009 Barb returned to education.

The business plan really started, albeit premature, when my dad asked if he could help in any way with my business plan.  He must have felt that after five years I was willing to stick to it.  After some planning we decided the five acres where we are today was just perfect.  With dads financial assistance we went to the bank and negotiated a mortgage and built our current store.  Our name at the time was Lappan's Landscaping and Garden Center.

From lawn care to landscape and then to a garden center and nursery we grew steadily.   We've had some good years and some not so good years, but trust and financial support from the industry and local banks have allowed us to continue.  I always felt it would be much too easy to quit, so I pushed forward with no regrets.

The winter of 1981 was tough, we almost didn't make it, even placing the land and buildings FOR SALE.  Again with the assistance of dad, A. James Lappan, we inquired about a John Deere dealerships and in the spring of 1982 we became a dealer.  The dealership made us a twelve month business or at least the start of one.

In 2002 we expanded our equipment sales divisions by becoming an Ariens outdoor power equipment dealer and also added the Gravely side of Ariens to the list of available products.  

In 2004 we continued to improve with the times and maintained a strong hold on our market share of sales.  One historic change, after more than twenty-five years, was the closing of our landscape contracting division.  We decided to no longer construct landscapes or plant nursery products.  We continued to offer a full service landscape design service and assist those property owners requiring design services.  This change was primarily brought on by the inability to hire qualified seasonal staff, year after year, loosing forward progress with in  the industry. 

Growth within the green industry, from plants to tractors has been fairly typical since our very humble beginnings.  We have been offering quality products and services since 1976 and have learned so much over the years.  The term "seasonal" can only be appreciated when, and if, you depend on the seasons of Northern Michigan to make a living.  Lappan's plan budgets and live for the season and support our customers in all their outdoor living requirements.

In the fall of 2008 we made the decision to no longer offer trees, shrubs and other nursery products.  Since 1976 it has been enjoyable to support the Gaylord area with a large variety of nursery products.  With an overabundance of local nursery products, it was our choise to begin closing our nursery.   We will continue to offer bulk garden mulches, fertilizer and professional landscape advise as the need arises.

The spring of 2009 Lappan's became a  full service and sales STIHL dealer.  This evolved from a partnership that was developed through John Deere to encompase the entire network of Deere.  Stihl manufactures chainsaws, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, back pack blowers, hand held blowers, Kombi-systems, Yard Boss tillers and cut saws.  We realized how important the brand name of STIHL was to outdoor power sales very quickly.

In 2009 we chose to considerably reduce our inventory in the GRAVELY zero turn.  We will continue to support our GRAVELY customers that have stood by Lappan's since 2002.

My son Jim and wife Barbara are testiment to my hard work and assure our customers that 'We are the Ones to Count On'.  Our sales and service staff that supports our desire to grow and prosper in Northern Michigan has allowed us to steadily achieve our goals.  Without a happy customer . . . growth stops.