Sterl Boothby Pharmacist
Grass Valley Drug 1950's
Grass Valley Drug 1980's
Sterl Boothby was my paternal Grandfather. He passed away in 1960, so I never knew him. I did know that he was a pharmacist by profession, and came to Grass Valley at the recommendation of his family doctor. Both he and my Dad, Dale Boothby, had very serious asthma conditions the doctor thought would be improved by moving to a drier climate. They had been living in Redwood City and San Carlos (a part of the Bay Area of San Francisco) which had a more humid climate. I suppose that was the best advice the doctor could give Sterl, at the time. There were not the advances in asthma treatment available that we have now (thank goodness for modern medicine...asthma is a condition that still runs in our family....). Certain environments were thought to be triggers for the condition at that time. Moving to a warmer foothill setting up in the pine trees might have seemed a healthier environmental choice for an asthmatic back in the 1940's.
So, Sterl and my Grandmother Terry (Nino) moved with their boys Dale and Kent to the beautiful little Gold Country town of Grass Valley in 1947. My Grandparents made Grass Valley their home and eventually bought McClard's drug store which they renamed Grass Valley Drug. The Drug Store played a large part in my family, and with the whole community of Grass Valley as well.
So, the theme of health this week takes us to the story of Sterl Boothby and Grass Valley Drug......
Oregon State College, Corvallis 1928 Yearbook from Ancestry.com
Sterl is in the bottom row, third from the left. He was a freshman in 1928. If you look closely, you can see his younger brother, Harold Boothby, second from the right in the middle row. He was also listed as a freshman. They were one year apart in age. Their mother, Lillie Mae Hayman, was living in Newburg Oregon while the boys were in college. Harold eventually became a pharmacist and worked at Ingle Drug in Ashland Oregon. His wife Louise was also a pharmacist/nurse.
College days. Very neat and tidy.
San Francisco?
The 1930 US Census lists Sterl as living in San Francisco with his mother and younger brother while he worked as a pharmacist. He met and married Tersilla Brondolo in San Francisco in 1937, and they moved to Redwood City and San Carlos where they lived for about 10 years. Sterl was a pharmacist at the Fred Musso Drug Company in Redwood City at the time of his WWII registration. My father Dale was born on May 3, 1941 and then his brother, Kent in 1945. By that time the family was considering a move to help improve Sterl and Dale's asthma symptoms. They settled on Grass Valley, California where Sterl had prospects of joining a pharmacy partnership.
The family moved to Grass Valley in 1947 and for two years Sterl was employed by McClard's Drugs on 124 South Auburn Street. The drugstore was located on the ground floor of the Masonic Building, which was dedicated in 1937.
Vintage postcard 1940's. McClards was located on the ground floor of the Masonic Temple. There is a historical marker on the corner of the building marking the dedication of the temple and Madison Lodge No. 23.
1939 ad shared by Dan Williams on the Facebook site You Know You're From Nevada County If You Remember Feb. 17, 2021
McClard's Drug had an in-store soda fountain which was still common in drugstores at the time. My mother Margaret (Hansen) Boothby remembers that she loved to visit the drugstore soda fountain, and even envisioned herself working there when she grew up. Little did she know at the time that she would grow up and marry my dad Dale who took over the pharmacy in 1966! By that time, the soda fountain had been removed. In its place was the fresh roasted nut machine at the far end of the counter that kept the salty cashews toasty warm. Cashews are still my favorite nut. That is one vivid memory I have of the drug store!
Grass Valley Drug with Fountain Service and Coca-Cola. Picture taken around the 1940's.
The history of the drug store really began in 1851 as the first drug store in Grass Valley. It was operated by pioneer druggist William Loutzenheiser and his son John in a wooden building at the corner of West Main Street and North Auburn Street. That building was replaced in 1855 (there was a fire!) by the brick building that still stands. There is a historical marker on the corner of this building marking Loutzenheiser's Drug Store. After 1928 the drug store became McClard's and eventually moved to the South Auburn address by 1937. I remember Foothill Flowers occupying this space in the 70's and the 80's. That was where we got all of our flowers for special occasions...the prom....weddings....all lovingly made by Marie Johnson, the Flower Lady.
An original bottle from W Loutzenheiser Apothecary
In the collection of Margaret Boothby
Sterl was employed by McClard's Drugs for two years. In 1949 he purchased the business, renovated the drug store and changed its name to Grass Valley Drug. W. B. McClard had been a partner of Sterl's since 1947 and when he retired McClard sold his interest to Sterl. A third partner in the business was Jacob Schramm.
Unknown photographer and year. The Drug Store after a snowstorm; early to mid 40's?
Sterl became an active member of the community. He was known for his affiliations with organizations including Grass Valley Elks, Gold Unit Shrine Club, Madison Lodge No. 23, Free and Accepted Masons, Sacramento Consistory Scottish rites, Ben Ali Temple, University of California Alumni, California Pharmaceutical Association, and the Nevada County Farm Bureau. He had served as past president of the Grass Valley Rotary and the Grass Valley Chamber of Commerce and had been a charter member and chairman of the Grass Valley Personnel Commission. He was very active in youth activities including Boy Scouts and 4-H. The Rotary Club, with Sterl as President, built BBQ and picnic tables at Memorial Park. He also was a founding member of the Nevada County Country Club. My sister and I have fond memories of swimming at the pool every summer at the Country Club.
Sterl had a very gregarious and generous personality and was well liked by members of the community. Uncle Kent remembers that "When the Community Hospital moved to Spring Hill and became Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Pop established the pharmacy and stocked it with some items at no charge." He also shared another memory of his dad at Christmas time in the early 50's... "A man came into the store needing medicine for his two sick kids but had no money. Pop went behind the counter and mixed up the medication and came back to the counter with not only the medication but a bottle of perfume for his wife and a bottle of bourbon for his Christmas dinner. When we moved to Thiel Way, we needed some work done in the back yard, expecting to pay a couple of thousand bucks. When the work was done a couple of hundred was charged, and I heard the story." Sterl's generosity was remembered long after he was gone.
The Drug Store filled its 1 millionth prescription in January 1953, which was a source of pride for the business. Grass Valley Drug was an integral part of the community during the 50's. Both Dad and Uncle Kent worked there after school and during the summers.
You can see the prescriptions on display in the front window in 1953. They were threaded onto wires as they were filled. These were all thrown away when the store was sold in the 90's. Dad was an early advocate of HIPPA to protect his clients, past and present! Grass Valley is a small town after all....
Sterl passed away September 10, 1960. The coroner stated that he thought the cause was from a known heart condition which had been complicated by an asthmatic condition. Less than two months prior to his death Sterl had been hospitalized under oxygen after he was found unconscious due to an attack of asthma brought about by overwork. (source: Sterl's obituary printed in the Union Sept. 12, 1960). He was separated from my Grandmother at the time, and living at his ranch home at Wheeler Acres. Nino, Dale and Kent were still living at the house on Mainhart Drive. It was a very, very difficult period of time for my dad and my uncle, as well as Nino.
The Drug Store continued to operate with Jake Schramm and Stan Hunter filling prescriptions while the rest of the staff continued to provide excellent service to their customers. Free Rx delivery was provided by the staff of delivery boys and the store clerks sold cosmetics and jewelry. Quality candies by Whitman's, Hoopers, Hoeflers, Saylor's and Pangburn's were gift wrapped free of charge as were the leather goods by Buxton and the electric shavers and automatic toothbrushes. The store continued running in this fashion until Dale finished his degrees in Pharmacy and Chemistry at the University of the Pacific. He took over the store in 1966 after much family deliberation (and Uncle Doc's insistence) and faithfully served as co-owner with his mother Terry and then owner, and head pharmacist, for 26 years.
Dale Boothby top row, middle. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry. He was told he couldn't major in two areas at the same time, but he did it anyway just to prove his advisors wrong.
Dale Boothby. Graduation from University of the Pacific in Stockton 1964. He graduated Cum Laude.
My Uncle Kent, Dale's brother, followed in the footsteps of his father, uncles and brother. He also attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton, and graduated with a Pharmacy degree. After 6 years in the Navy and a stint in Viet Nam as a Navy Corpsman he decided to go to the admissions office at UOP and apply. He was told to go to a Junior College and come back in a year or two. Uncle Kent promptly wrote a check and told them that if he could not maintain his grades then he would be the only one out of anything. He was accepted on a probation basis and was evaluated after the first semester with a 4.0 gpa. Kent said, "Yes, 4.0. My first and only." Even so, not to be outdone by his brother, he finished the pharmacy program in 3 years and 3 months. He worked as a pharmacist for Thrifty in Auburn and Grass Valley for many years, as well as Rite Aide. He even subbed at Grass Valley Drug for a short time after my Dad was recuperating from being hit by a car while jogging on Idaho Maryland Road. Even with asthma, Dad was a jogger!
The painted sign next to the parking lot..
This wooden container from Grass Valley Drug at one time contained a liver-stomach concentrate with ferrous iron and vitamin B complex from Eli Lilly and Co. It was sturdy enough to be used by generations of store clerks to reach things higher up on the many shelves in the store. It is still in the family and is currently being used as a foot stool. In the collection of Margaret Boothby. I remember sitting on this container in the back room after my piano lessons, waiting for Dad to finish up work so we could go home and have dinner.
Dad ended up selling the Drug Store in 1993, and Grass Valley Drug was no more. It was a difficult decision, but was a sign of the times with larger corporations coming into the picture. Small, independent pharmacies were having a hard time competing with the big companies. Dad tried to make the transition easier for his many loyal customers by transitioning himself and his employees to K-Mart. He worked there for several more years, and then began a semi-retirement career as a licensed tax preparer (I guess he couldn't get enough of math) and a mentor to upcoming Pharmacy Techs. He also worked part time at the Pleasant Valley Pharmacy.
A part of Grass Valley history ended with the sale of Grass Valley Drug.
Asthma is not an illness to be taken lightly. It does run in our family and affects several members in various ways. But, we have access to treatments and current research that was not available to my grandfather. At the time, it seemed that moving to a new environment was a way to improve his health, and the health of my father. Sterl 's life was still impacted by his disease (and his lifestyle choices as well...), but my father figured out how to live with his condition with the help of healthy living and modern medicine. The end result of my Grandparents' decision to move was that my family got to live and work in a truly beautiful and unique place that we still call home. And I consider it very special that we were also a part of the community's history of healing and service.
Graduated cylinders from either McClard's or Loutzenheiser's
from the collection of Margaret Boothby
And one more...
An Rx bag from G.V. Drug. They now make great lunch bags!
Relationship Reference: Me->Dale Boothby->Sterl Boothby->Lillie Mae Hayman and Josiah T. Boothby
I suppose the K-Mart is now long gone, too. It sounds as if your father had a strong sense of community with his customers, as did his father. (That's a lot of organizations to be active in!) Grass Valley sounds very charming, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteK-Mart is till going strong in GV as are a few independently owned pharmacies. People still talk about my dad and the drug store! Yes, Grass Valley is still a charming place to live and work, if you can afford it these days.
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