Henderson Drug Store
Glasgow, MO
The "drug" store has a long tradition in American culture and many of these once innovative businesses worked hard to distinguish themselves to locals and tourists alike. Webb City in Saint Petersburg, Florida, sporting six stories at one point in its history, called itself, "the world's largest drug store." Wall Drugs of Wall, South Dakota became famous for its "free ice water" and "5 cent coffee and donuts" signs letting early auto travelers crossing the long and boring prairie lands know that an oasis was just ahead. The signs have popped up all over the world, on every continent as the joke became to find the most remote place to let people know that there was free ice water at Wall Drugs. By the way, The Ample Traveler©'s favorite was the sign on a road in Kenya.
Henderson Drug Store in Glasgow, MO is in the same class as Webb City and Wall Drugs. Famous for their "cherry phosphates," Henderson's is called Henderson's because a Henderson has owned the store since it was established in 1841. Considering that the town of Glasgow wasn't incorporated until 1861, the five generation family business was one of the first along the steepest bend in the Missouri River.
Dr. Osborne Henderson came to the area to apprentice as a physician, assisting Dr. Ober in taking care of Riverboat crew members and local farmers. According to the family history distributed as a legal size photocopy sitting by the pop shop counter, Dr. Henderson reconsidered his desire to be a physician after "a dark night's travel through uninhabited territory with the amputated arm [of a man injured in a hunting expedition that he was taking back to the laboratory to be analyzed] swinging from his saddle." Shortly after his trip, he bought out Dr. Ober's apothecary shop and decided to concentrate on the pharmaceutical side of medicine.
Delma Henderson has worked in the family business since she married Walter, Jr. in the early 1950s. Her sons, William and Donald, run the business now. Even though she was widowed in 1974, Delma continues to serve cherry phosphates and other delights at the pop shop in the front of the store. She has a lot of stories to tell and is willing to chat at length about the store and its history.
Delma told The Ample Traveler© about when she first married Walter Jr. and started working at Henderson's pop stand. Their busiest time was Saturday nights. "Before television and all that people had to find something to do for fun," she explained. In Glasgow, that something was "going to town." According to Delma, live music and dancing were part of the weekly festivities and on a hot summer's night along the river, a cherry phosphate or a banana split helped make the evening go smoothly. Henderson's stayed open until sunset to accommodate the good time and Delma got to know all the farmers and river workers who made Glasgow a center of trade. The Ample Traveler© suspects that Delma was probably a good dancer in her day and knew how to have fun with the rest of the town. She certainly still knows how to make a great cherry phosphate and good conversation.
The Ample Traveler© included Henderson's Drug Store on the agenda even though it is not easily accessible for two reasons. First, the store is the quintessence of the local charm of the small towns along the Missouri River. Glasgow is a small center of river traffic and farming. Second, while the store itself might be difficult to get into and out of with a wheelchair or walker, the town police station sports a very accessible restroom across the street from Henderson's that is open to the public 24 hours a day and offers air-conditioned relief from the elements as well as some nice maps and tourist information. Henderson's has steps in the front of the store, but once inside, the benches and booths accommodate diversity and the smoke-free, air-conditioned environment makes for a nice oasis on a summer's afternoon.
Take a few minutes to sit along the sidewalks on a lazy summer day in Glasgow and watch the river. Just sitting there will make you pine for simpler times.