Photo courtesy of Tim Haney
Photo courtesy of Tim Haney
Donges Drug Store
by Alan King
One of the great joys of writing articles about the days of my youth here in Xenia and Greene County is the occasional correspondence from another “townie.” Recently I got an e-mail from Tim Haney who was put to work behind the soda fountain at Donges Drug Store on his 12th birthday. In those days, many a parent would drag their son or daughter out of bed on Saturday mornings or get them on their bike after school to lend a hand at the family business. Tim was fortunate that his dad was the manager at Donges and he could put in his time mixing phosphates and vanilla Cokes.
Donges was located in the first block of South Detroit St. in Xenia. It closed a few years ago, but it is still there today and if you walk by, you can look in the window and peer back in time. My sister in law, Cindy Knight, tells me that she remembers walking into town with her mother and sister to go to Donges every week for a treat. I remember going to MYF on Wednesday evenings at our church on Second Street and calling my dad to ask him to pick us up at Donges.
As you walked through the front door of Donges, the first thing that caught your eye was the soda fountain. It had red vinyl stools that sat on shiny chrome pillars. They would spin you round and round with just a gentle kick. If you stood up and leaned over the counter you could see all the flavors of Lady Bordon ice cream. There were vats of hot chocolate, marshmallow, and caramel for sundaes. A rack of 10 cent bags of Kuntz potato chips was within easy reach.
Closer to the front door was the Russell Stover candy display, the magazine rack, and comic books. A whole rack of comic books that you could look at as long as you occasionally fished out a dime and bought one. Tim tells me that he served Cokes flavored with chocolate, cherry, lemon, lime, strawberry, and their secret formula, nectar, but vanilla was always the favorite. I was hooked on lemon Cokes myself. The phosphates were flavored seltzer water, kind of like old fashioned Faygo. My dad sometimes ordered a strawberry phosphate.
The tobacco business was big, and brands like Alpine, Chesterfield, Old Gold, and Lucky Strike (remember LSMFT?) competed for shelf space with Days-O-Work and Old Mule chewing tobacco. For those who had asthma, there were even medicated cigarettes called Cubebs. Imagine trying to tell someone to smoke a cigarette to help their breathing these days!
The gum rack held the usual Juicy Fruit and Double Mint, and also forgotten brands like Black Jack, Teaberry, and Clove. If you had been to the tavern after work, Tim could fix you up with Sen-Sen to hide it from your wife. Old time remedies were also big sellers at Donges. They carried Moon’s Liniment, Swamp Root Elixir, Carter’s Little Liver Pills, Mother’s Friend, and Humphrey’s remedies numbered to suit each ailment. Tim recalls a craze for Yardley’s Slicker lipstick in the 60’s that they were never able to keep up with.
Then there was the rest of the drugstore. The ceilings in Donges were probably 18 feet high, and lined with shelves all the way to the top. Cosmetics were on the left, greeting cards at the rear near the elevator to Dr. Donges and Dr. Carl’s optometry offices. Along the right wall were sliding ladders that allowed the clerks to reach items on the upper shelves, and in the era of miniskirts, Tim was often drafted to climb up after things to preserve the modesty of the female clerks. Further along the right wall, the pharmacist dispensed orders from Doc Lee, Dr. Henderson, Dr. Stoneburner, Dr. Savage, and many others. The entire floor area was filled with displays and shelves were you could find the most eclectic variety of goods and sundries imaginable.
Tim recalls Donges being open late every day, even Sunday. He also reminded me of the long gone Xenia tradition of Friday night shopping. Most Xenia merchants used to close their stores on Wednesday afternoon so that they could stay open until 8:00 on Fridays and noon on Saturday. This made Friday evening the time to come into town and walk along the sidewalks, window-shopping and talking to your neighbors and friends.
Times have changed, Donges soda fountain is closed and few people walk around downtown anymore. Kids dash into the Quick Mart for a can of pop and hurry on their way. I think it was nicer when getting around town involved more walking and talking and sitting, and less dashing. The only thing we can hope to do is to remember when life was slower and find time for our kids to stop and sit and share a moment and make a memory with us.
© 2002-2012 Alan D. King