Kirk's Pharmacy going strong after 60 years

CHRISTOPHER A Franklin County business will celebrate its 60th anniversary this week.

Pharmacist Jim Kirkpatrick opened Kirks Pharmacy May 10, 1953, in his hometown of Christopher.

Christopher was a busy town. Every building was filled up with businesses and downtown was bustling. The coal mines were working and business was good, he said. There were three drug stores on main street.

The pharmacy not only dispensed drugs, but also, in those pre-giant retailer days, items like cosmetics, photography supplies, jewelry, toys and perfumes.

The store also had a fountain that proved a hot spot for local teens.

Business was so good that, at one time, Kirks had three registered pharmacists and seven or eight clerks working the front of the store.

I worked long hours, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day except Thanksgiving, he said.

One side item sold in the store drew people from miles around, he said.

I remember getting in the Barbie craze. The salesman told me about a new toy, the Barbie doll, he was carrying and asked me to try selling it, he said. People were coming here from all over because no one else was carrying it.

As years passed, Kirkpatrick said more competition entered the market, changing the face of small-town business.

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Kirk's Pharmacy going strong after 60 years