How many of you out there remember Rexall Drugstores? How many of you out there actually grew up in a town with a Rexall Drugstore? A lot of you, I dare say.
Those were the days, weren't they? The druggist (that was before the word "pharmacist" was in vogue) probably knew your parents on a first-name basis. In addition to dispensing drugs, the hometown drugstore had a killer soda fountain and sometimes a really lethal lunch counter. A BLT was the specialty of the one I remember and you could get a Cherry Coke long before the Coca-Cola Company thought about putting that recipe in cans. Or remember the chocolate Cokes? Candy bars were a nickel, and ice cream sundaes with real whipped cream and a cherry and chopped nuts on top might have been a quarter. In addition to those such things, they sold wonderful smelling products that most kids bought for their mothers on Christmas, Mother's Day, and Mom's birthday. They had sweet little knick-knacks, get-well cards, great gift selections, and the druggist would even wrap feminine unmentionables in brown wrapping paper. Today the drug stores I haunt sell beer and wine, products "As Seen on TV," milk and ice cream (at a highly inflated price, of course) and will do your photo processing either online or at a machine inside the store. Yep, those were the days, my friends!
Oops, I got a little carried away there and veered off my intended track.
This Rexall Drugstore in Rusk, Texas, although still sporting its original sign, is now an antique store! It just seems like everything I remember from my growing-up years is now an antique. Sigh!!
12 comments:
What a great post, Kathy. I do remember the Rexall drugstore and the REAL Cherry Cokes. One of our local drugstores was owned by a cigar smokin', rifle shootin' woman. Boy, times are sure different now.
Yes, I remember these places too. Sadly, the "sweet" lady Tracy referred to recently passed away. My friends and I used to be daring and go there for lunch on Fridays when I was in the fifth grade. We'd walk ALL the way downtown. Those were the days my friend. :)
That was a great trip down memory lane! It seems fitting that this old drug store building now houses antiques. I do remember Rexall and the soda fountain.
Yes, yes, yes! We had a Rexall drug store which I frequented every Saturday morning browsing through the Archie comic books and buying 2 packs of red licorice with my weekly allowance. Mr. May, who loomed behind the drug counter, was a great community champion.
Thanks for bringing those memories to me this morning!
oh what a great, simple time. we didn't have one in my tiny Wisconsin hometown, but a store in our 'big city' nearby had a deli counter inside it which was similar. :)
We had a Rexall Drugs in our town too. I liked your memories - those were the days!
What a great building and I love that sign!
Great post down memory lane! I'm glad they kept the sign. I'd love to go antique shopping in there.
I never heard of Rexall. I wonder if it was regional? I do remember soda fountains though.
Thanks for reminding me in such detail! We had one near us in Cleveland, Ohio. :)
Oh my gosh have you ever stirred up a hornets nest of memories for me! Cherry cokes and Vanilla cokes after school and occasionally a root beer float. My favorite treat was a scoop of chocolate ice cream with marshmallow topping on it. And, then there were the smelly things. My very first and longtime favorite perfume came from there. It was called Taj and had a cap on the bottle was shamed like the dome on the Taj Mahal. I shopped there for all sorts of gifts for mom and dad and probably others too.
That's the thing about change... It's so hard to accept it when it happens to the things we loved and connect to. Beautiful image though!
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