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[Page H1169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CELEBRATING BOONE DRUG'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2019, the Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from North
Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for 30 minutes.
Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Mr. 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. In January 1919, 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.
{time} 1730
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.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________