Medicine, Sundries and Ice Cream Sodas!
What's It Wednesdays
ACHC #1989.830.1
Hartigan’s Pharmacy used to be the corner store on Main St and Chestnut St. Where the CVS now stands.
On November 7, 1924, a small announcement was placed in the Andover Townsman, on page five. It was a simple boxed ad inviting people to come to the opening of The Hartigan Pharmacy. Andover didn’t lack for pharmacies. At the time, there were already three on Main Street.
What was noteworthy is that Hartigan's was the first business to open in the new K&D Block Merchants Building.
Andover Townsman ad November 7, 1924
Daniel Augustus Hartigan was the owner and pharmacist. That was in the days when drugs were mixed and filled by local druggists.
Pharmacists, as a profession, can be traced to the Sumerians in early Mesopotamia. However, it wasn’t until the 17th century that a pharmacists guild appeared in Britain. These apothecaries prepared and dispensed “home” remedies and medical advice. The remedies could differ vastly depending on who did the measuring and mixing.
The practice came to America with the first colonists. By 1721, there were 14 apothecary shops in Boston. The pharmaceutical profession, as it was, lacked standardization. In 1852, following on the British government’s Apothecaries Act of 1815, created the American Pharmacists Association to provide standards for the profession. It was the first time that chemists and druggists were called “pharmacists” and all were required to comply with regulations and laws.
Hartigan’s, as with many “drug stores,” was so much more than just a pharmacy. The ads over the years highlight Colgate toothpaste, Cashmere soap, Orchid Eau de Cologne, Whitman Sampler candies, and cigars. Drug stores, much like today, carried a variety of everyday necessities.
ACHC #2001.509.4
The interior of Hartigan’s showcased polished mahogany panels, display cases with glass doors, a telephone booth, and a marble soda fountain.
In the early 1920’s, soda fountains were becoming popular. They were made more convenient to a store owner because of the 1908 invention of ammonia refrigeration, rather than using blocks of ice for refrigeration. Soda fountains could be found in drug stores as well as department stores, ice cream parlors, and train stations. The popularity carried through the 1940’s and 1950’s. Soda fountains were places for people to meet and catch up on local news and to enjoy an ice cream soda.
Danial Hartigan owned and operated his corner drug store until 1966. At that time, James Sullivan took over the business. Jim had grown up in Hartigan’s. He started working there just after graduation from Punchard High in 1928. He became a registered pharmacist in 1937 and continued helping Dan Hartigan with filling drug requests.
On Saturday, April 8, 1978, Jim Sullivan retired from Hartigan’s after 50 years. The contents of Hartigan’s - the mahogany display cabinets, the Hartigan’s sign, and even the marble soda fountain with its glasses and mirror backbar were shipped to Texas and then ended up in Arizona.
Hartigan’s Pharmacy had been the corner drug store on Main St. and Chestnut St, for 54 years.
What’s your favorite drug store/soda fountain memory?