Saturday, July 01, 2006

Drugstores

I'll have a Cherry Vanilla Coke, please.
Okay, let's dalk drug stores. I remember three fountain drug stores in town, but I only remember one having booths to sit in. Who can name them, and where was the one with the booths, or did they all have booths? B.J.

Paul G said...
I think Ferguson's Drug Store (on Rosser ?) had both the fountain/bar and the booths, the Palace Drug Store (on the corner of Broadway across from the Methodist Church) also had a fountain (no booths that I remember), and then there was the drug store on South Washington with a fountain - but... I don't remember the name! We used to go there after Sunday School and get "adult novels" to read in the balcony of the Methodist Church during the service (while B.J., Jan, Nancy, Dora, et.al. were skipping church all together!). Once when I was in the 2nd grade, my mother had just bought me a cherry vanilla coke at this drug store after school. I was just about ready to take a big sip when I looked up and saw Mrs. Danehower (my teacher) standing in front of me! I had never previously seen one of my school teachers outside of school - and was so STARTLED that I dropped my coke on the floor! I guess I just assumed that teachers LIVED at the school. lol
Sun Jul 02, 12:57:32 PM 2006


B.J. said...
That's the drug store I was thinking about, too, but I don't remember the name either. Could it have been City Drug Store? I don't know why, but that sounds familiar. I remember sitting in the booths later as teenagers shooting straws at each other. The drinks came in real glass glasses. Did they have paper drink cups back then? I don't remember getting drinks "to go". We had the time to sit and enjoy it there anyway, which we much preferred.
Sun Jul 02, 07:55:35 PM 2006


Sula said...
When I visited my grandparents from age 6-9 and lived with my grandmother from 9-11 I practically lived at the Palace Drug Store. No booths. Table, chairs and stools at the fountain. I would walk down there by myself and get a Superman comic book or Supergirl and get an ice cream cone in a sugar V-cone and eat it as slowly as possible finally when I had nibbled it down so there was only a small little v cone left, I would ask them to put a tiny dollop on top to make it look like a doll ice cream cone. Most of the kids coming in there when I was there were older(I didn't know them. They would read the comic books on the stands while having an ice cream or soda... you had to buy one to read them but you could exchange the one you sat with at the table and read with a soda before you left, with one you hadn't read. But I didn't do that. I bought one each day & finally had read every single one on the stand. I took mine home & read it over & over. I would go down there every day waiting for the newest one to come out & would buy it. We had STACKS, BOXES of Superman & Supergirl comic books. I knew everything about Superman, Superboy & Supergirl. Wish I had them now! I can see almost everything in the Palace Drug Store in my mind now...where the drug counter was (back) and there was a back door there, the Whitmans' candy counter(on left). I think B is right...the City Drug Store was the last fountain to close in town. I recall going there in 1968, senior year, and it was the only one left.
Sun Jul 02, 09:07:02 PM 2006


Contributor said...
The drug stores I can remember were the Palace, City, Broadway, Jim Edgar, and Ferguson. I think it was the City or the Broadway that had the booths. They were close to each other downtown on Washington Street. One of my best friend's parents owned the Palace and I remember that we drove the Gray's nuts going in there so much and Ruth Ann getting behind the fountain to fix our sodas.
Sun Jul 02, 09:30:25 PM 2006

Bogie said...
The drug store on South Washington was the Broadway. My buds, Gylinda Bounds, Cathy Rosica, Joyce Gray and MaryAnn Burrows stopped in there all the time to read Photoplay magazines and sip on our chery cokes! Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue were the celebs of the day. Dates consisted of a movie at the Imperial and a burger, fries and coke at the Skipper. Then home! Ha, we never parked!!
Mon Jul 03, 2006

Jeannie said...
D.B. and I used to go to the Palace Drug Store and sit in the window, literally, as we read the comic books and drank a coke. It is hard to believe that Joe and Marion Gray never said a word to us about how long we stayed and/or never buying one of the comic books! Then there was Mrs. Lockhart that used to follow us around in Ferguson's Drug Store. We would go in together and split up just to see what she would do. Those were the carefree days!

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Blogger Peach Fuzz said...

I think Ferguson's Drug Store (on Rosser ?) had both the fountain/bar and the booths, the Palace Drug Store (on the corner of Broadway across from the Methodist Church) also had a fountain (no booths that I remember), and then there was the drug store on South Washington with a fountain - but... I don't remember the name! We used to go there after Sunday School and get "adult novels" to read in the balcony of the Methodist Church during the service (while B.J., Jan, Nancy, Dora, et.al. were skipping church all together!).

Once when I was in the 2nd grade, my mother had just bought me a cherry vanilla coke at this drug store after school. I was just about ready to take a big sip when I looked up and saw Mrs. Danehower (my teacher) standing in front of me! I had never previously seen one of my school teachers outside of school - and was so STARTLED that I dropped my coke on the floor! I guess I just assumed that teachers LIVED at the school. lol (Paul G)

Sun Jul 02, 10:57:00 AM 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's the drug store I was thinking about, too, but I don't remember the name either. Could it have been City Drug Store? I don't know why, but that sounds familiar. I remember sitting in the booths later as teenagers shooting straws at each other. The drinks came in real glass glasses. Did they have paper drink cups back then? I don't remember getting drinks "to go". We had the time to sit and enjoy it there anyway, which we much preferred.

Sun Jul 02, 05:55:00 PM 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

When I visited my grandparents from age 6-9 and lived with my grandmother from 9-11 I practically lived at the Palace Drug Store. No booths. Table, chairs and stools at the fountain. I would walk down there by myself and get a Superman comic book or Supergirl and get an ice cream cone in a sugar V-cone and eat it as slowly as possible finally when I had nibbled it down so there was only a small little v cone left, I would ask them to put a tiny dollop on top to make it look like a doll ice cream cone. Most of the kids coming in there when I was there were older(I didn't know them. They would read the comic books on the stands while having an ice cream or soda... you had to buy one to read them but you could exchange the one you sat with at the table and read with a soda before you left, with one you hadn't read. But I didn't do that. I bought one each day & finally had read every single one on the stand. I took mine home & read it over & over. I would go down there every day waiting for the newest one to come out & would buy it. We had STACKS, BOXES of Superman & Supergirl comic books. I knew everything about Superman, Superboy & Supergirl. Wish I had them now! I can see almost everything in the Palace Drug Store in my mind now...where the drug counter was (back) and there was a back door there, the Whitmans' candy counter(on left). I think B is right...the City Drug Store was the last fountain to close in town. I recall going there in 1968, senior year, and it was the only one left.

Sun Jul 02, 07:07:00 PM 2006  
Blogger Peach Fuzz said...

The drug stores I can remember were the Palace, City, Broadway, Jim Edgar, and Ferguson. I think it was the City or the Broadway that had the booths. They were close to each other downtown on Washington Street. One of my best friend's parents owned the Palace and I remember that we drove the Gray's nuts going in there so much and Ruth Ann getting behind the fountain to fix our sodas.

Sun Jul 02, 07:30:00 PM 2006  
Blogger Peach Fuzz said...

The drug store on South Washington was the Broadway. My buds, Gylinda Bounds, Cathy Rosica, Joyce Gray and MaryAnn Burrows stopped in there all the time to read Photoplay magazines and sip on our chery cokes! Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue were the celebs of the day. Dates consisted of a movie at the Imperial and a burger, fries and coke at the Skipper. Then home! Ha, we never parked!!
Bogie

Mon Jul 03, 09:30:00 AM 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Broadway drug store was the last one to not have a fountain. It was owned by Edith and Bill Clanton- he was the pharmacist

Tue Jul 04, 01:40:00 PM 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Who remembers the five cent vanillia coke ice from Palace Drug Store. It was a cup of crushed ice with coke syrup and vanillia over it. I would always get that and a heath bar. Broadway, Palace and Fergusons had booths. Jim Edgar didnt. I can remember going to Broadway and Palace the most as they were within walking distance of my house. I can not believe they would let us sit there and read all those comic books without buying them!

Fri Jul 14, 09:22:00 PM 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

D.B. and I used to go to the Palace Drug Store and sit in the window, literally, as we read the comic books and drank a coke. It is hard to believe that Joe and Marion Gray never said a word to us about how long we stayed and/or never buying one of the comic books! Then there was Mrs. Lockhart that used to follow us around in Ferguson's Drug Store. We would go in together and split up just to see what she would do. Those were the carefree days!

Sat Jul 22, 03:30:00 PM 2006  
Blogger Widewader said...

Do none of you remember Winfield's Drug Store on North Washington near the swimming pool and Vandiver's Supermarket? The parking lot still had gravel. Dick Winfield and his wife ran the place. They had a pinball machine to the left just inside the door where you could usually find Freddie Swan. They had a fountain and booths. Dick was a very thin little guy who "got not respect" from the guys who hung out there. I swear I remember hearing about Sonny Holmes physically carrying Dick outside of the store when he got too insistent about keeping it down. I don't know how long the store lasted, but it was definitely open in the late 50's and early 60's. Speaking of the Broadway, I also saw Freddie Swan win more than one bet by eating an Ice Cream Soda in less than a minute. If he did, it was free. He never paid for a one.

Tue Jul 25, 06:57:00 PM 2006  

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