When I lived in Indiana, one of my favorite summer events was attending the Indiana State Fair.

One particular exhibit captivated me.  The Hook’s Drug Store Museum.

As a boy, I often went to Elwood’s Hook’s Drug Store with my mother.  The pharmacy area was several steps up from the main floor, and had a somewhat imposing appearance.  However, two kindly faces I dearly remember from my youth always smiled down from the raised apothecary:  Jim Cole and Dixie Reynolds.

I can still hear Jim’s gentle voice calling out, “Hey, Fella.  You helping your mother, today?” I would later know Jim, and his wife, Beth, more as I traveled through school and marching band with their children.

I don’t recall if Dixie was a pharmacist’s assistant, but I often recall seeing her in the area.

There was a distinct, penetrating smell that bit the nostrils a bit.  I do not recognize it today when I visit my pharmacy, but it remains vivid in my nose’s memory!

The Hook’s Museum was filled with the history of earlier pharmacies, but also yielded special treats – sodas, candy from an earlier era, and souvenirs.

This morning, an on-line conversation sparked my fond memories of a childhood haunt, and the warm, caring pharmacist who served as a model for what I now expect from a pharmacist.