Going over the boxes of out dated and obsolete merchandise that one
accumulates if you are in business long enough, leads one through
three quarters of a century of observations. Even as a small child
during the depression, I was aware of many of the products that my
father sold in his drug store. He was very proud of the small
selection of fragrances from around to world but one of the most
enduring was the line of Yardley of London. English Lavender was a
favorite of the ladies far beyond my lifetime, so when WWII ended and
a small quantity could be obtained for the store, we were elated.

An interesting business sprang up during the middle and late forties
of repackaging of various products in short supply that could be sold
in stores catering to a less affluent customer. Yardley, along with
Chanel° 5, and a number of other so called exotic products would
be repackaged in one ounce or less bottles, labeled and sold as the
real thing. Were they? I don't know but we always suspected that
they were somewhat diluted with alcohol or water to make them go
around. Often they were sold to the store by interesting gentleman
in a rumpled suit that delivered the product out of a disreputable
pre-war car standing at out front door.

The lack of these products during the war was because Europe was off
limits for importations for a long period thus making their return to
the marketplace a source of excitement. Another product that did not
exist in any quantity was candy. With the exception of Whitman's
Samplers, chocolate was in very short supply. What there was usually
was included in the C-Rations carried by our troops. A simple candy
bar was almost non existent with the exception of an occasional
Hershey Bar. I remember when we got the first Milky Way Bar's after
the war. We would sell only one to a customer and the box would be
empty by the end of the day. One nickel was the price, and that
seemed a lot. Hard candy we always had but little else with the
exception of Horehound drops which came in a barrel and had to be
weighed and bagged at the store. As we reached the bottom of the
barrel, sugar that had escaped the candy could be recovered by a wet
finger. Somehow we were able to have chocolate syrup all during the
war. Nylons were harder to get and silk stocking not at all. Silk
came from Asia.

I do not remember feeling particularly deprived because of the lack
of anything during WWII because the Depression had created almost the
same conditions. My father was one of the lucky ones during the
Depression in that he had a job as a pharmacist the whole time. He
had to work in two stores as the relief-pharmacist for the owners,
but it was steady and they provided transportation for him to go
between the stores in Exeter and Porterville. The car was a l928
Plymouth coupe which had the sailing ship as a hood ornament. He did
so well that in l936 I went with him to pick up his new gray colored
Chevy two door sedan at the local dealer. Imagine my disappointment
when I discovered no sailing ship as a hood ornament. Those new cars
had wonderful odors of mohair and fresh paint. Why he took me with
him to pick up the car I can not say, but the event stuck with me and
at times over the years when I bought a new car, the same experience
would return.

The Exeter Drug had a Model A coupe that was called Aspirin. It was
used for deliveries and Dad would often drive it home for lunch.
When we came to Mariposa, Stan Fiske helped Dad find a l932 Model A
for the store, and it was also given the name Aspirin. Dad soon
learned that delivery of goods in Mariposa involved muddy roads and
no communication. The practice soon ceased, although once in a while
Emile Trabucco would deliver medicine for Dad with the weekly order
of groceries, feed and dynamite. A not so unusual modification
of the Model A was to remove the rumble seat or trunk lid and install
a wooden box which would serve as a pick up bed. Many men did the
same and for years such modifications were common in Mariposa. I
recall going with Dad to the Owl Creek Mill of Roy Merrill to pick up
a load of sawdust for the yard in that converted coupe. When I
became old enough to drive, at 16, the Model A became my first
transportation. It was so worn out that I had to rebuild the engine,
which I did, parking it at the Standard Station downtown.

The Model A and B Coupes were four cylinder vehicles that Henry Ford
manufactured as the upscale replacement for the Model T. The first
V8 engines that Henry made were installed in a later model B vehicle,
but soon the body was up dated into a more modern, aero dynamic model
with out the boxy style of the early "T" ,"A" and B. All Fords,
until about l948, had solid front axels, mechanical brakes until l939
when hydraulic systems were installed. All of these models could be
purchased from the McElligott Brothers at Mariposa Garage, which is
the building incorporated by the Pizza Factory. Doug McElligott took
over the garage and sales room about l938 and recalls the Mountain
Lion Cub from across the street, wandering over and sleeping on his
cash register counter in the parts department. WWII ended the Ford
Agency and Al and Eleanor Croft (Rollston) took over the garage.

Another liquid staple in the old drug store was Bay Rum. We would
buy it by the case. Gentleman would use it as a shaving lotion or
just a body lotion of some report. Bay trees are native to Mariposa
and the distillation of the oil of bay plus the addition of alcohol,
made a potent product. So potent that from time to time, when the
whisky ran out, gentleman would take a nip of the old bay rum as it
was cheap and carried no tax. I recall during the Korean War, while
in the Air Force, we had a poker playing sergeant from Alabama that
especially liked Bay Rum or Mennen's Skin Bracer for a pick me up
when luck was running bad.

Just plain alcohol would come in two forms. Rubbing Alcohol (Alcorex) was the more expensive product which was produced by Rexall, and for those with smaller bank accounts, Denatured Alcohol, which had a bitter taste and cost pennies a pint. Both were considered for rubbing sore muscles, although
neither seems to do much, but still sold in quantity. Real liniments, such as Absorbine Vet. and Jr., and Sloans Liniment were more expensive but more aggressive. Mouth washes also contained alcohol, and I suppose, could be substituted as a nipping potion. Listerine was the favorite but Rexall produced two products, MI31 (copy of Listerine) and Klenzo which was a sweet red refresher. All the modern mouth wash products came after l950.

The 1 cent sale was a twice yearly staple at the Drug Store. People
saved up their needs until we would have this event. We sent out
flyers and usually there was a special item given away. During the
early years we might give a way a hand held fan with our name and
phone number on it. 32J was the number. During the fall sale period
we would have a contest for various prizes, including a boys and
girls Olson bicycle. There would be lesser prizes, but each one
special. However, when we built the new Drug Store in l959, we gave
orchids for the ladies and a trip for two to Hawaii.

But the staple all those years in the fragrance department was the
Yardley products. As the years wore on, Yardley expanded their
lavender line to include soaps, lotions, shaving products and a big
seller at Christmas, soap on a rope. Old Spice actually took the
idea and made it famous... Gift sets of various products were big
items, and since there was a shortage of diversity of gift products
for men at the time, what is now considered ordinary everyday items,
were packaged as boxed gifts, to be wrapped in the back room with
special paper and tied with ribbon which curled when ran over a
scissors edge. We had to teach each new employee on how to gift wrap
and how to keep costs down by saving and using each square inch of
material. All went into the bottom line.

I suppose each generation regrets the past no longer being the
present as we get older. I do miss those years of selling pocket
watches, alarm clocks, hot water bottles, ice bags, tea cups,
nostrums, ointments; and even the first Timex watches. We couldn't
keep them in stock. The Drug Store was the supermarket of it's time
and now it is something else. Some day it will be written how change
has come to some other seemingly staple of someone else's generation.

Leroy Radanovich

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To Read More By Leroy Radanovich:
Leroy Radanovich's Mariposa Life Archives
 

To learn much more about Mariposa County along with
historical photos:
A signed copy of "Images of America" - Mariposa County,
By Leroy Radanovich can be purchased at his web site:
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This is a early day photo of the Mariposa Mine in
Mariposa County that is mentioned in the article to
the left by Mr. Radanovich.

This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a warm tone ready for framing
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Mariposa in 1920

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All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a warm tone ready for framing
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Mariposa County Courthouse written by Leroy Radanovich and
Scott Pinkerton is a book about the oldest courthouse in California that is still in use today.
The book is signed by Leroy Radanovich.
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Mariposa in 1860




This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a warm tone ready for framing
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