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Samuel's Drug Store
History
Samuel's Drug Store
wasn't always under the Samuelson banner. The frist drug store in Starbuck and
one of the first buildings in the Village was the Day's Drug Store located
close to 108 East Broadway. This building was later destroyed by fire.
In 1885 O.J. Johnson
moved to Starbuck from Glenwod and established a drug store east of the present
day drug store. Mr Johnson was one of the leading citizens of the village and
held the position of President of the Village Council. |
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The lot where the drug
store now stand was purchased by R. F. Case from O. J. Johnson in April 1899.
Mr Case constructed a new building and operated the drug store from that
location. It was completed in 1900 and had a center door with wooden steps up
from the sidewalk to the wooden floor which was kept oiled to repel water and
muddy shoes. A show window on each side was decorated with crepe paper and
advertising signs, such as "gall cure for horses, liniments for men and
beasts". One large bottle of liniment was "two-bits" or 0.25 cents but Hamline
Wizard oil was 0.50 cents. Total sales went as high as $5.00 per day but Mr.
Case was by no means idle. He had a swift grinding mill for reducing roods,
rhizomes and barks to powder for percolation. |
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Some prescriptions
called for Many ingredients to be mixed in powders. Customers would leave the
prescription and return in an hour or so receiving twelve hand folded powders
for 0.25 cents. Small quantities were ingredients adjusted to needs of the
patient came to 0.25 cent for a half ounce jar.
The cosmetic department
consisted of face powders, cold cream, freckle cream, hair oil, shampoo and an
entire shelf of 8 ounce glass stoppered bottles of perfune. One could choose
from one's favorite violet, white rose, lavender or jasmine. Mr Case would fill
on dram vial for 0.10 cents or 0.25 cents |
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Business was so good
about 1917 that R. F. Case and his son Wilson R. Case acquired a partner named
C. A. Stocking. However, they sold the property to George Arneson on August 14,
1922. The depression and the dry dusty years occurred during his
ownership. |
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In 1934, Alex L Kapsner
became the owner and pharmacist in Starbuck MN. In remodeling, he had a new
roulded cement step built on the front. Duing his ownership, the Dionne
quintuplets were born in Canada and each year of teir growth was displayed with
a lrage picture in the stoe window as an advertisement for Rexall Cod Liver
Oil. During World War II the wonder drugs (sulfa and penicillin) were
introduced in limited suppy toopen a whole new era in the drug
world. |
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Milton and Ted Samuelson
bought the drug store in February 1946. Gradually they extended the building,
thus making it larger to acommodate more shelves for drugs and other
merchandise. In 1978 L. M. Samuelson retired and his son John became Ted
Samuelson's partner
In 1978, Ted Samuelson
son Donald Samuelson was included in the partnership as a pharmacist.
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Today there are many new
wonder drugs, antibiotics in plenteous supply. If Mr. Day, or Mr. Johnson or
Mr. Case could come back and have a look at the prescription room today, it is
doubtful that theywould recognize many of the drugs there.
However, some of the old
standby patent medicines such as Kuriko, peruna and Lydia E Pinkham are still
found in the shelves. |
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