HINTON, (Hinton News) – It is time for another edition of A Peek into Summers County’s Past. Every week, local history collector William Jones talks about pieces from his extensive collection and their historical significance. In this edition, we are discussing Rose’s Pharmacy, which once operated in Summers County. Jones has provided some photos for reference.
To begin, Jones notes some of the businesses that have and continue to exist in Hinton. He said, “For a small town, geographically speaking, Hinton has had its share of pharmacies throughout the years. There were, and are, large chain pharmacies such as Rite Aid, which is now Walgreens, and the pharmacy in Kroger grocery store. Then there is Big Four Drug Store, the only privately owned pharmacy still in Hinton today. Additionally, there was Butlers Pharmacy in Bellpoint on Greenbrier Drive across from Jarrells Exxon, that was in operation for 26 years. Creed Pharmacy on Temple Street. Pucket Brothers pharmacy on 2nd Avenue, where Rivertown is now, more commonly known as just Puckets. Then there was Rose’s Pharmacy on the corner of Temple Street and 3rd Avenue. It burned in 1983 and is now the town square during events such as Railroad Days.”
Speaking specifically about the pharmacy on Temple and 3rd, Jones said, “It is just a coincidence that Hinton has had two stores by the name of Rose’s. Roses Discount Store that opened in the old Magic Mart building in 2022, and the other was in the early 1900s. A man by the name of Shane Rose organized, opened and ran Rose’s Drug Store in downtown Hinton across from the Hinton Hospital at that time. The early photos of the interior show quite an elaborate store. With a huge counter for a soda fountain with room to seat six or more people. The bar behind the counter had marble columns that were most likely purchased from Hinton Marble Works when Rose’s first opened. Mr. Rose had quite the knack for advertising his drug store.”
“From a very theatrical looking Model-T that was driven around town to showcase what the store had to offer, he also had plain trucks with ‘Get It At Rose’s’ painted on the sides of them that were driven around town advertising his store,” Jones said. “He painted his ads on the sides of barns and outbuildings, much like the famous Mail Pouch Tobacco advertising gimmick where they painted their slogan on the sides of barns throughout the United States, adding up to over 20,000 Mail Pouch Tobacco barns across 22 states.”
While Rose’s advertising did not quite reach the level of the Mail Pouch Tobacco project, it did well. Jones said, “Mr. Rose’s advertising campaign didn’t quite reach this scale, but was obviously successful nonetheless. There are numerous early photos of his slogan ‘Get It At Rose’s Ask About NYAL’S Remedies’ painted on what I now call ‘pharmacy barns’ in Summers County in the early 1900s. I had forgotten that I had this photo of yet another advertising stunt that Mr. Rose did around that same time until I was going through my vast collection last week.”
Jones concluded by saying, “It is a cart/float that was built to look like a trolley car. It appears to be built around two bicycles. This was most likely done to carry the weight of the contraption so the others in it would be able to more freely walk inside of it. Along with Mr. Rose’s well established and used slogan for his business he also advertised ‘Free Deliveries’ on this trolley as well. It is obvious that he did whatever it took to be a ‘game leader’ in his chosen field at the time. Which from the numerous early photos of Rose’s Drug Store I have seen over the years paid off for him. But this is the only photo I have ever come across that showed his use of this contraption.”
This brings us to the end of another edition of A Peek into Summers County’s Past. Did you know about Rose’s Pharmacy and all of its advertising gimmicks? Be sure to come back next week to see another look at the history of the area.
Do you have a story from Summers County’s past that you would like to share? Send us an email at news@hintonnews@com.
