Pharmacies have always been a fixture in Negaunee
A medicine bottle on display at the Negaunee Historical Society museum shows Rexall Drug Store owner J.E. O’Donoghue’s name at the bottom. Labeled entirely in Finnish, it lists “Negauneen,” no doubt that language’s translation of Negaunee. (Photo courtesy Virginia Paulson)
This ad for the Perkins Drug Store in Negaunee listed the year it started and the kinds of goods it sold besides its traditional drug store fare. (Photo courtesy Virginia Paulson)
A medicine bottle on display at the Negaunee Historical Society museum shows Rexall Drug Store owner J.E. O’Donoghue’s name at the bottom. Labeled entirely in Finnish, it lists “Negauneen,” no doubt that language’s translation of Negaunee. (Photo courtesy Virginia Paulson)
This ad for the Perkins Drug Store in Negaunee listed the year it started and the kinds of goods it sold besides its traditional drug store fare. (Photo courtesy Virginia Paulson)
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The recent news of Snyders Drug Store closing in Negaunee got me thinking about "The Pharmacy."
Negaunee has supported a pharmacy since the late 1850s. Dr. L.D. Cyr, a physician, moved from Montreal, Canada, to the Lake Superior region. He moved to Negaunee and this city became his home as he opened his first office here.
As the Negaunee settlement grew, the need for a drug store became apparent. Although Dr. Cyr was a physician, he supplied this need by establishing a drug store in a frame building at the head of Iron Street.
The drug store became a busy place in this small mining town. Keeping pace with the growth of the area, he erected the first brick building, a large structure that was on the corner of Iron and Cyr streets. There for many years he conducted his drug store.
He was interested in the art of photography, and he also had the first jewelry store in town. Various lines were added to his drug store and it kept a wide range of grocery items and dry goods. The drug store was also the headquarters for candy. He knew the ladies wanted to buy lace.
These businesses were never to interfere with his practice of medicine. His doctor's office was located in the rear of the store. For those who remember, this building became the bowling alley in later years.
Philip Kirkwood, who became one of Negaunee's prominent citizens, came here from Ireland. After arriving in Negaunee, he got a position as a pharmacist with Dr. Cyr, eventually establishing his own business.
He served as one of Negaunee's earliest mayors. During his term in 1877, the waterworks system was developed, as was municipal lighting. The Kirkwood home still stands on Main Street.
The Rexall Drug Store was owned by J.E. O'Donoghue. Although this does not seem to be a Finnish name, we have a medicine bottle in the Negaunee museum archives written in the Finnish language.
Perkins was another pharmacy that was later sold to the Arneth brothers. Arneth's drug store had a soda fountain, which was a popular place for teenagers. When the Arneths bought the Rexall store from Perkins, it was sold as a package deal, also getting the house on Case Street as part of the deal.
This home became known as the pharmacist's home because the next owner, Joe Mautino, also bought the Rexall Drug Store and house as a package deal in 1956. Mrs. Mautino was a Southern girl and she wanted pillars on the porch. So this house, having belonged to Perkins, in the early years had a new look. Joe Mautino's daughter still occupies the home.
The Negaunee Dispensary on Teal Lake Avenue also served as a drug store. The doctors in that building also dispensed their own medication.
Harry Cronin purchased the Kirkwood-O'Donoghue business location in 1933.
Penicillin had not been invented by that year, and there were no antibiotics, which a quarter century later by 1958 had already come into widespread use to combat infections and reduce the common cold.
Rapid strides were made in the field of medicine as a result of World War ll. And many miracle drugs were being used by diabetics. In 1958, vitamins for children and multivitamins were in most households.
The handling of greeting cards, cosmetics and toiletries were common drug store items, though vanishing from the scene was the soda fountain.
In 1968, Negaunee native Roy Pruiska purchased Cronin's drug store on Iron Street. He moved the business, now known as the Negaunee Pharmacy, to a business complex on U.S. 41, with Mike's Party Store and Hardware, owned by Mike Williams.
Ron Katers bought the Negaunee Pharmacy, and Snyders Drug Store came into being. If Harry Cronin saw a change in the pharmacy business, how about the Snyders example, selling flowers, grass seed, top soil, gardening supplies and Christmas trees. And administering flu shots and shingles shots.
To think, that at one time there were always two pharmacies on Iron Street.
Virginia Paulson has been a trustee with the Negaunee Historical Society for more than two decades, previously having been on the Negaunee Public Schools board of education for 23 years and MARESA board for 17 years.