I guess Im a little nostalgic, so Ive been thinking about Prestonsburg, and the changes that I have seen. I wanted to start a note where we can recall and swap stories of our hometown, whereever it may be. My hope is that others will read this, stir up some memories and inspire them to add their own. Here is mine. Fountain Korner Drug I grew up in Fountain Korner Drug, the store that my family owned. It was first one by someone in my family by my uncle Fred Dickerson, who was Ethels husband. Really dont want to go into the reasons behind it changing hands, lets say it was under salicious circumstances. It was owned by the 3 Burke brothers - Joe, Hern and Johnny. The 3 brothers shared the jobs, duties and chores that are so much a part of running a business, along with their sister Ethel. The typical day began at 5 am at Korner Drug, with the making of the first of many pots of coffee. The usual suspects would be gathered at the front door, waiting no matter what the weather, for a hot, steaming cup of joe. As the day brightened, the girls on the fountain arrived for work to take over coffee detail and deliver hot, greasy breakfasts to the gathering customers. The head table was the first booth, usually occupied by one, two or 3 of the Burke men, swapping stories and telling tales. Boisterous games of Liars Poker, a game I dont know the rules of but I know involved the serial number from dollar bills, were popular, as was the betting cards that covered the point spread of the NFL. I always imagined that Ethel stood behind the cash register and watched with a feeling of aggravation as she probably worked while they played. Each of the boys had their special job to fill. My dad, Joe attended University of Cincinnati Pharmacy School before WWII. He dropped out to enlist and go overseas with his brothers. I guess he naturally fell more into the pharmacy world, although he fancied himself as a super salesman as well. One of his jobs was the pharmacy billing, done of course by hand with a #2 pencil. I remember how painstaking the task was, no loops in your figures or you got denials instead of money. I always thought my dads job was so serious and I was fascinated watching him work. I guess that is where Joey and I get our graviatation toward medicine. Hern was a photographer, who loved tinkering with cameras. He could always be found in the camera department, working with such obsolute items as flash bulbs and film and darkroom chemicals. He would be so amazed by our cameras now! Johnny to me was kind of a jack of all trades. He took responsibility for all the ordering, I guess I saw him bossing the staff more than the other two. And then there was Ethel... Each of the boys wives also worked, albeit from home. My mom, Leslie, made the world famous pimiento cheese. I remember each week - the 10 pound bricks of cheese, the gallon jug of mayo, and the little glass jars of bright red pimiento. She would drag out this big, heavy crank grinder, grind that cheese and beat it all together, mainly by hand. It was one of the favorites at the store, and I wanted to like it so much, but never did. Jean would bake pies for the drug store as well as make mustard potato salad and Helen would make ham salad. Helen was the fanciest of the 3, and I never thought her and ham salad should be in the same sentence. All of us did our part, if you were big enough to walk through the store, you were big enough to drag a broom, make a bow for the gift wrapping or pick up a cold cup of coffee. It was a true family business. Ah the smells of Fountain Korner. There were the awful smells, to me the cigarettes and cigars - hated them! The funny, noxious, medicinal smells of potions and elixirs, the clean smells of rosewater and lemon glycerine sticks, the sweet, flowery perfumes and colognes, the dark rich scent of Russell Stover chocolate and the heavenly smells of greasy hamburgers and mustard, fries and ketchup, sour, salty pickles, honeybuns heating up on the griddle and fresh squeezed lemonade. Boy am I hungry! Ah, the grand mix of folks that called Korner Drug their second home. From attorneys and docs and dentists, to ladies that lunch, to a small segment that only can be referred to as odd. (I fell into the last category). I remember one fellow, Abe Smiley. Everyday, a local attorney would take Abe around to the customers in the booths and display a nickel and a dime in his hand. He would offer Abe whichever one he wanted, Abe always took the nickel and everyone would laugh. So dad finally asked Abe why he did that, surely he understood that a nickel was worth LESS than the dime, even though it was bigger. His response, If I take the dime, hell quit doing it! I imagine with the prices back then, Abe bought quite a few Pepsi Colas on that attorneys nickel. As I worked in the store, there were little things that I loved to try to get away with. One was looking at the trashy magazines and romance novels with their steamy covers. The main thing though, was to open customers photos and look at them. Dad would get really mad if he caught me, which made it all the more more enticing. But once something happened that made me stop. I opened a package, glancing around to see where dad was, and it was photos that someone had taken at a funeral! I think that was something often done years ago, but boy it made this little sneak walk the straight and narrow! I have so many memories, one could get lost in them, but I will stop. I will publish as ask that anyone add to it, if possible with their memories from their home town, where ever it is. Love you all and God Bless!
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 01:50:36 +0000
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