M-A-C Magrath, Alberta, Canada
Magrath Pharmacy
I work at the museum that is now called the Magrath Pharmacy. It has tons of old stuff in there and I am not just talking about the staff. Arlen (Bennett - current owner/pharmacist) tells of how the tin ceiling tiles on the roof show where the original Doctor's office (large tiles vs small tiles) sat. Back then, people would enter from the alleyway door (now enclosed in) on the south. The door is still there but is invisible to the public because of the beautiful antique display rack that sits in front of the doorway. Many have admired the display piece but as it requires a 12 foot ceiling clearance overhead to open it up, it remains a dream of those interested. Arlen would probably sell it if the right buyer came along. But, I digress. The pharmacy has since been expanded west (the current dispensary area), to the south (where we now sell the dollar cards and the former soda fountain area), and again to the west (the current store/work room area).
The pharmacy has provided a number of services in addition to dispensing medications over the years, including the above mentioned soda fountain - Denny's Own. In the back storage areas I have come across the original ice cream molds that were used to create there home made ice-cream-sicles and a device used to slice frozen ice cream into sizes to insert a stick and to be dipped in melted chocolate. Most of the original soda fountain counter is still in place, but has been modified to serve as shelf space. The 'love tree' wall painting on the south wall has been there for decades.
Other services of mention - we were the Greyhound Bus Line stop in Magrath, repaired watch straps and dispensed old (round 'Harry Potter') style glasses, and in the far past you could get your bad tooth pulled here as well. I came across a few dusty brochures last year entitled, 'The Church and the Current War' dated 1944. We recently sold the last of our supply of violin strings (one of the former Pharmacists was a violinist) and black carbon paper sheets. At the back of one shelf is a 8x12 black and white photo from a 1967 dance event at the school featuring many local residents.
Arlen Bennett has worked at the Magrath Pharmacy since 1991 (before then he worked for Draffins in Lethbridge) and has owned the Magrath Pharmacy since he bought it from the Fletcher family in Oct 2000. Glen Fletcher and his father Nyal and his grandfather Ira before him were the previous owner/operators. Nyal worked as a pharmacist here up until age 70. He is 90+ now and still going strong (he recently played a violin solo at our church service and I saw him riding his bike to the store last summer). His unusual name is derived from the pharmacy as well - it was on the label of many drug bottles and boxes (the New York and London Drug Company or NYAL Drug Co).
I have worked at the pharmacy for 5 years now and helped to replace clerk Barbara Ririe who had put in 40 years and Marie Stevenson (now Christensen) who had been there for decades as well. When I started, we used two networked Win98 computers, with dial up internet access, and a DOS based pharmacy program (KROLL for DOS) when I started. We now use KROLL for Windows with much faster WinXP machines with a POS file server, two pharmacy stations, two POS stations, three alternate work computers, debit and gift card machines, all on high speed internet.
What are your memories?
The pharmacy has provided a number of services in addition to dispensing medications over the years, including the above mentioned soda fountain - Denny's Own. In the back storage areas I have come across the original ice cream molds that were used to create there home made ice-cream-sicles and a device used to slice frozen ice cream into sizes to insert a stick and to be dipped in melted chocolate. Most of the original soda fountain counter is still in place, but has been modified to serve as shelf space. The 'love tree' wall painting on the south wall has been there for decades.
Other services of mention - we were the Greyhound Bus Line stop in Magrath, repaired watch straps and dispensed old (round 'Harry Potter') style glasses, and in the far past you could get your bad tooth pulled here as well. I came across a few dusty brochures last year entitled, 'The Church and the Current War' dated 1944. We recently sold the last of our supply of violin strings (one of the former Pharmacists was a violinist) and black carbon paper sheets. At the back of one shelf is a 8x12 black and white photo from a 1967 dance event at the school featuring many local residents.
Arlen Bennett has worked at the Magrath Pharmacy since 1991 (before then he worked for Draffins in Lethbridge) and has owned the Magrath Pharmacy since he bought it from the Fletcher family in Oct 2000. Glen Fletcher and his father Nyal and his grandfather Ira before him were the previous owner/operators. Nyal worked as a pharmacist here up until age 70. He is 90+ now and still going strong (he recently played a violin solo at our church service and I saw him riding his bike to the store last summer). His unusual name is derived from the pharmacy as well - it was on the label of many drug bottles and boxes (the New York and London Drug Company or NYAL Drug Co).
I have worked at the pharmacy for 5 years now and helped to replace clerk Barbara Ririe who had put in 40 years and Marie Stevenson (now Christensen) who had been there for decades as well. When I started, we used two networked Win98 computers, with dial up internet access, and a DOS based pharmacy program (KROLL for DOS) when I started. We now use KROLL for Windows with much faster WinXP machines with a POS file server, two pharmacy stations, two POS stations, three alternate work computers, debit and gift card machines, all on high speed internet.
What are your memories?
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Permalink Reply by Roger on
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The Magrath Pharmacy has been a part of the Town of Magrath since the turn of the century. Some early trivia: The current building was built by Dr C.W.Saunders and eventually sold to the Fletcher family. The first telephone exchange was housed here - when less than a dozen phones existed (we were phone number 9). Denny's Own served ice cream here from 1937-1957. Up until the 1960's it was also a Greyhound Bus station. Magrath Pharmacy is also known as 'the home of Fletcher's Sore Mouth Medicine'.
Ira Fletcher started with Dr Saunders in 1903 and retired as a owner/pharmacist in 1965. His son Nyal was a owner/pharmcist until 1999 and his grandson Glen Fletcher was an owner/pharmacist here until 2003. Arlen Bennett has worked at the Magrath Pharmacy since 1991 and purchased the business from the Fletcher family in 2000.
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