11. The Old Drug Store

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The Old Drug Store – 108 River St

To the east of Stop four was the Rexall Drugstore run by James A. Anderson, who was a pharmacist in Sunderland from 1918 until his sudden death in 1948 while at a local baseball game. Saturday was the busiest day for the store, and he often was open till midnight. James Anderson had been a part of the medical Corps in the 182nd Infantry Battalion in World War I. Prior to the war a map in 1910 shows that the building was a barber in a tailor shop run by Arthur Brether.

Before the war, Jimmy Anderson had purchased the Harry Baldwin drugstore that was in the McDermott Block on River street and later moved to this location when he returned from overseas. Many of the old medicines and bottles from this store are located in the Sunderland Museum on Church Street. He sold perfumes, toilet articles, Kodak film, Nielsen chocolates and Niles family remedies.

Jack Anderson, his son, took over the operation of the drugstore after his father died and Cliff Miller was the pharmacist. Later Bud Green ran the store around 1959 and after this the business closed. Mike Sheridan started the Sunderland Pharmacy in the building directly to the east of the original drugstore.

When Mike Sheridan began the pharmacy next door in 1973, Mike the community had been without a pharmacist for 10 years. George Tassey could up to that point give out counter items but could not fill any prescribed medicines. In March 2009, the original old drugstore was torn down. This is now a parking lot.