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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E99]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CELEBRATING BOONE DRUG'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY
______
HON. VIRGINIA FOXX
of north carolina
in the house of representatives
Monday, January 28, 2019
Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate
Boone Drug in Boone, North Carolina, on celebrating the 100th
anniversary of the founding of its original store, opened in North
Carolina's Fifth District by Dr. George Kelly Moose. With this
longevity of service in the community, Boone Drug can truly claim to be
a neighborhood institution. When it opened, it was one of only two
drugstores in Boone, and it has thrived in the midst of the changes of
the pharmaceutical industry through the last century.
For 50 years, customers went to see Dr. Moose, walking from miles
away to buy their medicine at Boone Drug. The upstairs of the building
was occupied by a group of doctors and a dentist, which kept constant
traffic moving in and out of the store. Dr. Moose even kept his
drugstore open until each doctor had seen his last patient, often late
into the night.
In 1947, two brothers, Dr. Odell Kelly--``O.K.'' for Odell Kelly--and
Dr. Wayne Richardson, joined Dr. Moose at the pharmacy. The space was
expanded for a soda fountain and grill, where many locals socialized,
and the town's movers and shakers talked politics.
Joe Miller was next to join the Boone Drug ownership. Having worked
at the fountain in high school, the Richardson brothers convinced him
to go to pharmacy school and eventually made him a fourth owner.
Dr. Miller was joined by Dr. John Stacy and Dr. Jim Furman. They have
kept alive the legacy of customer service, philanthropy, and business
expansion of their predecessors. The Boone Drug pharmacists often
volunteered their services, staying open until 9 p.m.; so that
physicians could work long hours and patients could fill their
prescriptions after a late-night doctor's visit. The store's philosophy
was that anyone who came in with a prescription left with medicine,
even if one didn't have the means to cover the entire prescription's
cost right away.
In the mid-1980s, Dr. Miller broadened the store's horizons, selling
art supplies. The popular art supply store, named Cheap Joe's Art
Stuff, began in the upstairs of the drugstore. At first, art supplies
were placed on shelves between over-the-counter medicines downstairs.
Eventually, what started as Dr. Miller's hobby outgrew the drugstore
and Cheap Joe's Art Stuff moved into its own location, serving
customers worldwide.
Although the drugstore's fountain and grill closed in 2011, the
owners have filled its former space with a nonprofit community kitchen
that feeds the hungry. Today, there are 17 Boone Drug locations in
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The pharmacists in these
pharmacies serve as direct contacts for medical information without an
appointment or the expense of a doctor's visit. Boone Drug provides a
shining example of the important role that pharmacies play in
supporting healthy communities. They provide immunizations, durable
medical equipment, counseling, and expertise in healthcare.
I have been a patron of Boone Drug since moving to Boone as a student
at Appalachian State University and always enjoy my visits to the
store. I continue to love all the wonderful employees and am privileged
to represent this small business and local pharmacy. It treats clients
like family, which is the hallmark of a small-town drugstore that lasts
a century, and I wish Boone Drug another 100 years of success.
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