Teske’s Pet & Garden Center Celebrates 100 Years in the Quad Cities

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Press release: Teske Pet & Garden

The team at Teske Pet & Garden is pleased to announce that the business is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Five generations of Bingham relatives have worked at the 100-year-old Teske Pet & Garden Centers.

Al Teske founded Teske Seed & Feed in 1922 in Moline, Illinois. Carl (Ralph) Bingham started to work for his uncle Al Teske in 1926. Ralph Teske, with the help of Norma Ogburn, took control of Teske’s when Al Teske passed away in 1960. The business retained the Teske name and Ralph Teske, alongside Norma, continued to run Teske’s with the help of his children, Terry Sr. and Vicki Grudzinski.

Terry, Sr. took charge of the store when Ralph Teske died in 1990. From 1990 to present, general management has passed from Terry, Sr. to Ty Bingham to Terry (George) Bingham to Darcy at present. Jill is the manager of the Bettendorf, Iowa store. There are currently 12 members of the Bingham family involved in the business.

Starting out in a small store that only handled feed and seed, the Teske store has grown with the community. As times changed, the demand for a wider variety of items has become greater. As a result of this, the store went from selling farm supplies, food, chickens and horse supplies to selling fish, pets, pet supplies, outdoor plants and equipment. The demand became so great that a second location was opened in 1992 in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Back in the day, Carl would find an orphan lamb each year and raise it in the store, making sure to have bottle feedings ready.  Kids were encouraged to come by and see the animals and help feed them.  There was even a lion cub raised in the store after its mother refused to feed it.  You would walk in and there would be Mynah birds, crows, hamsters, ground squirrels and other small animals. Parents could shop for plants, seeds, or a new power mower while the kids have plenty to look at or play with. Now, the store is known for its variety of outdoor plants, lawn care products, pet and fish supplies, puppies, kittens, birds and other pocket pets, as the Teske motto says, “Where Home Comes to Life.”

“There have been five generations of families working in the Moline location. We also have another location in Bettendorf, Iowa,” said Darcy Rogers, current general manager at the Moline, Illinois location. “We have had and still do have long time employees who are like family and they care about the company too.”

“Every spring we celebrate our anniversary with giveaways, sales, a petting zoo, food and drinks,” concluded Rogers. “We usually give away a puppy if we can.  One year we gave away a horse.  It is always a busy and special time.”