Drug stores – including the ones that are no longer around – have been a recurring topic on this blog.
In our area, there seems to be one located at every major intersection, whether it's Drug Mart, Rite Aid, Walgreens or CVS. I'm still partial to Drug Mart; that's where I get my prescriptions, and I shop there practically every day. The others? I've never warmed up to them, even though they've been around a long time.
But we all remember the stores that are no longer around, including the big chains like Revco, Cunningham's, and Gray Drug, as well as the little ones like Boston Drug Store in Downtown Lorain. And of course, the independent pharmacies such as Whalen Drug and National Pharmacy kindle the fondest memories of all.
One of the regional chains that I've written about several times is Muir's. It started out as a drug store but eventually evolved into more of a discount store.
The branch in Lorain on Broadway was actually the 'original parent unit' of the 30-store, which was based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. And here is an almost full-page ad for the store that ran in the Lorain Journal back on October 1, 1953.
Front and center is the store's mascot, the Thrifty Scot. (Back then it wasn't politically incorrect yet to depict Scotsmen as notorious cheapskates.)
It's an odd ad. If you look closely at the products on sale, you'll have a hard time finding any recognizable brands. Instead, you find weird ones like Dewey Nose Drops, Lady Fair Cleansing Cream, Q-Wick Room Deodorant, Spotoff Cleaner and Baby Bunting Baby Powder.
Speaking of Baby Bunting, it's one of the few items that I was able to find an image of. Here's a container of it.
I was also able to find a package of Smiles Blades that somehow survived. That illustration of the beaming, clean-shaven guy is great.
Thanks Dan for enriching my vocabulary. Never heard or saw in print 'hirsute'. Being a fan of crosswords I had to look up the definition and pronunciation. Todd
ReplyDeletePS We were a Revco family growing up (Lorain Plaza) but I remember there was a local drug store in our neighborhood on the corner of Oberlin Ave. and maybe 17th St. Across from Adams Cafe (Biggy's) Huff's Maybe. I would go there once in a while...Not sure why I remember this but I bought a green ball point pen there ...thought it was neat-o at the time!
I wonder if they had a soda fountain. Back in my day, most drug stores did - even the independent pharmacy at the corner of our street had one. Some places even served hot food. I used to each lunch fairly often at a Walgreens when I was in college.
ReplyDeleteThis chain would seem to have been the precursor of such as Revco. I remember when the Marshalls near me in Euclid was repurposed into one of the first stores in the Revco empire. Out went the soda fountain. In came a literal maze - you had to walk up and down each aisle until you came to the check out. I have no idea how that passed the fire inspection.
"SuperKeen!"
ReplyDeleteMy word for the day!
My kid still shaves with a safety razor and blade. In fact, the adjustable razor he uses is my father's and it dates from the 1950s, right around the time your ad was published. He says he gets a better shave from it than any other razor he's ever tried.
So, blade sales aren't completely dull.
Our local pharmacy had a fountain, complete with a "jerk," but we never went in there much. Instead, we had to wait in the car, probably so we wouldn't pester whatever parent we were with for a treat!
I have a photo of the first store in the Stearns Plaza at the corner of Stearns and Lorain Rd in North Olmsted. It was just one store, A SuperX drug store. That was in 1970. It was gone by the time I moved to Stearns Rd in 1984.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised you shop often at Discount Drug Store. They have always focused on the "front end" of the store (non pharmacy). They have a grocery section including meat and produce and a deli. Clothing, appliances, paint and hardware. When they began they had power tools and even lawn equipment.
You're right, Dennis. Plus it's about 2 minutes from my condo too.
ReplyDeleteAnd Todd--I know which pharmacy you're talking about on Oberlin Avenue; my 1964 directory says it was Houff's. I just remember going into that store to buy a newspaper when John Wayne died in early summer 1979, I was driving around buying copies of the Journal, the C-T, Plain Dealer, etc.