He had a shop in the town. It was one of those drugstores that had a soda fountain in it. Very similar to Mr Gower's drug store in It's a Wonderful Life. This is my Uncle Paul behind the counter. This series of photos of Grandpa's store were taken in the 50's. It was obvious that it was just before Christmas. All the Christmas decorations and a Christmas tree are in the store. Uncle Paul always had a flat topped or G.I. haircut and it seemed to me that he was always stuck in 1955.
There were some tables and chairs in the front of the store where you could sit and have your ice cream soda and in the back of the store you got your prescriptions filled.
You can see my Uncle Paul posing in the back where prescriptions were handed in. To the left you can see the swivel chairs you could sit on if you wanted to sit at the counter. He also sold other bits and pieces. Camel toothpick holders, souvenirs of Wisconsin, postcards, pens, writing paper, perfume etc . . . These things filled the shop. They weren't necessary as such, but they kept the wolf from the store. I would love to have a chance to talk to Grandpa now about the store. I'd also like to have better pictures, perhaps a photograph of the prices of the ice creams and sodas.
I don't know who this woman is. It isn't Uncle Paul's wife, my Aunt Penny and it isn't my Aunt Mary Ellen. Perhaps she is just a customer.
This is a photo of the outside of the store. After Grandpa died and the store closed, the big neon DRUGS sign was stored in the back of the garage. It just got dusty and covered in cobwebs. I'm sure that after Grandma died, it just went to the dump.
This is a closer look at the front of the store. You can see my grandfather's shadow. He was wearing a hat as all men did in the 50's. I can see the big weighing scales through the window. These windows had big clear yellow plastic blinds that were rolled down in the summer to protect the stock from being sun bleached.
The only thing I have from the old store are these four soda glasses from the soda fountain and the faded photographs that I have just shown you.
11 comments:
What a coincidence....
My grandfather was a pharmacist in one of those drugstores that had a soda fountain also. His drugstore was in Little Rock, Arkansas.
My 'dad' hired on there when he was around twenty or so as a 'soda-jerk' which is how he met my mom.
I don't have any photos of the inside but I wish I did. I have a couple of the outside but that is it. My grandfather died suddenly when I was around three.
Beautiful post. Vell done.
My Mom's cousin had a drugstore in Lansing, Iowa, which is really part of Wisconsin except by accident of geography. When I was little he didn't have ice cream; my only real memory of the store is my profound disappointment when I bought a candy bar there that was stale and awful. I don't think he was big on rotatating the stock.
I should have entitled this one "The Reason Drugtown Sucks!" Wouldn't you rather have your prescriptions filled in a place like that?
I hope that you guys post some photos of your old family pharmacies if you've got them.
I've never seen these photos- thanks for putting them up! I believe some of the cousins were forward thinking enough to get the chairs, that's my hope anyway. Those glasses are gorgeous and would hold the right amount of cabernet. Let's break them out on my next trip over- hee hee.
Sal
What a great post Peggy but as I always say "nostalgia ain't what it used to be"
What a wonderful treasure you have in those photos and those glasses. Great post
I think the woman sitting at the counter is the insurance agent's wife, and if I wait long enough, their names will come to me. She belonged to Julia's sewing circle (Stitch & Bitch, as Aunt Mary Ellen called it).
Anyway, Murray was a great practical joker. I was told on very good authority that one of his favorite amusements was to give free CHOCOLATE ice cream cones to little kids who came to the store in their Sunday best after church.
I have more of those glasses, btw....
Those are really wonderful pictures. It really would be great to still have the neighborhood drugstores. Or, at least the personalized service people got at those places. Now everyone is just known by a multi-digit account number.
When my children were little, late 70's, I guess really not that long ago, there was a privately owned pharmacy in town called Lyle's. This was in Cedar Lake, Indiana. Lyle was behind the counter. It was wonderful. He knew everyone, their parents, and their kids. If you were short on money and it was before payday he would spot your prescription until the check came in. Once my little one had a terrible rash that we could not get a handle on with the usual over the counter remedies. I was at my wits end. Lyle leaned over the counter and handed me a little white class jar. It had a black metal lid and a hand written label that said "Dr. Clancy's Butt Cream". It was light brown and smelled like chocolate. We smeared it all over that child and by the next morning he was good as gold. For the next many years I would make sure all new mommies had a jar to start out with. Sadly both Lyle and the pharmacy are gone now. I enjoyed paying him homage. Thanks! - Oh - I'm visiting from Jay's.
Very, very cool to see these photos and hear about the store. I come from a long line of store owners. My grandparents had a clothing store in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and my dad had a liquor store and a news market (like a Seven-11, but old-fashioned and without the Slurpies) in a nearby town. Sadly, we have very few photos of these places, and two out of the three stores are gone.
I think the sign on the highway used to say that Elcho was an unincorporated township of 319 people. "Unincorporated township" in some states means the designated area has at least 200 people. I think.
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