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Pioneer Drugstores

© Jerri Brooker

Last week I stumbled on a book, The Pioneer Drug Store: A History of Washington State Drug Stores and Their Artifacts, in my local library catalog (Timberland Libraries) that totally fascinated me, so I put it on hold. Then when I checked it out I was taken aback by the size of it - 909 pages! How would I ever find time to get through a book like that?

Well, I’m a local history buff and it didn’t take me long to realize when I opened the pages that a lot of it was a directory of drugstores and photos of old labels, bottles, etc. Okay, I can handle this.

I gleefully dug into this 1991 tome by David Bethman (no ISBN number folks, sorry). You can see from my scan it has seen better days. Opening the pages I was even more intrigued when reading some of the history of the drugstores.

Book Entries

Some of Bethman’s entries are very entertaining. The earlier section of the book discusses the tension between doctors and pharmacists when drugstores emerged, such as a cartoon depicting a doctor instructing his assistant to run around the corner to get a prescription from the pharmacist which he would then sell his client, telling them not to trust the pharmacist!

Love this entry: June 1919 PDR: “The Chehalis Pharmacy at Chehalis, formerly known as the Ellsworth drug store, recently held a spring opening of its fountain. Gifts of candy were given to each guest. The proprietors are Charles Mecklem of Palouse and E. T. Lawrence of Chehalis.” I can just picture the soda fountain social at this event!

[lot394.thm] Is this the “Sweet Inspirations” fountain of today, Chehalis folks?

The Red Cross Drug Company operated in Tacoma until 1966, after an initial start in 1903. It, too, had a soda fountain. I can just imagine all the town folks sitting around talking and catching up on the latest news. Bet there were regulars just as there are today at Espresso stands around the state.

The Owl Pharmacy in Wenatchee was opened in 1909, the name later changed to Owl Drug Company; this is still in operation and has a soda fountain. Wenatchee also had a U.G. Pogue Drug Company and Wenatchee Drug Company prior to 1915.

The book is thorough in its beginning history of all city, town and rural pharmacies and owners down to their personal lives and political interests in some cases. This 1896 entry on Joseph Schlumpf of Pacific Drug Review, President of the Washington State Pharmaceutical Association, is one I found charming:

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