There aren&pos;t too many Albion businesses that have been around for 100 years or more. Homestead Savings Bank, and Cascarelli’s are a couple of examples. In a short time however, another Albion business will join the ranks of this elite classification: Parks Drug Store.
On June 5, 1922, Floyd Parks (1890-1967) purchased the drug store of Bruce Kinmont at 316 S. Superior St., located in the Sheldon Block on the northwest corner of Superior and Erie Streets. It was renamed Parks Drug Store. Kinmont had been in the retail drugstore business for nearly thirty years and his establishment was a mainstay in downtown Albion.
Floyd Parks came to Albion in 1918 to work at the Van Gorden Drug Store (later Brownridge’s) at 100 S. Superior St. In the 1922 press release it stated that Floyd was "a young man of pleasant personality who has made many friends since he came to Albion and he is assured of a good share of the drug business of this city. He plans to make some changes in the store, which will be thoroughly renovated and redecorated within the next few weeks."
Parks was a native of Caro, Michigan and received his pharmacists license at the age of 18. Back then you only had to take an eight-week course and pass the State of Michigan examination in order to quality as a pharmacist. He worked in drugstores at Eaton Rapids, Middleville, and Hastings before coming to Albion in 1918. He was married to Nina Messenger in Eaton Rapids in 1914.
In 1956, Parks’ employee John G. Shedd became a partner in the firm, and subsequently purchased the business outright in 1967 when Parks retired. The Parks Drugs name has been carried on up to the present day. Floyd Parks died June 17, 1967, and was interred in Riverside Cemetery.
From our Historical Notebook this week we present a late 1930s-era photo showing the Parks Drugs storefront. Notice the Miller’s Ice Cream (which it sold) sign on the right.
Many of our readers have fond memories of Parks Drug Store, including the soda fountain, ice cream, "cherry cokes," and other features found there in years past. On a personal note, it was at Parks Drug Store that I purchased the weekly "Journal of Albion" newspaper, filled with historical photographs and articles about Albion, which kindled my interest in Albion history as a youth.
I hope the store will be able to hold a 100th anniversary celebration for this milestone. How many of our readers have been to Parks Drug Store recently?
