If the address sounds familiar, it’s because this is the Delos Duty building on N. Market St. where Delos himself started in the pharmacy business around 1907 before turning to law. Even Duty’s pharmacy wasn’t the first one in this location, because he trained under F.J. Haerberle who worked the same address as a pharmacy before Duty thru the turn of the century.
Prior to the pharmacy business, Frank Parks ran a hotel over a store in the south side of the southeast corner of the square owned by George H. Goodall. I presume from the fire report that this means the business was facing E. College Street. The fire occurred on November 19, 1896 and jumped College Street catching a saloon and livery stable on fire. It was reported that, ” At last, the ‘wooden block’ consisting of the entire south half of the east side of the square is gone up in flames.”
Parks Pharmacy occupied the Market street address from about 1915 through the 1920’s but moved into the Goodall Hotel at 1105 Public Square in the 1930’s. Perhaps the timing wasn’t well placed because the Goodall Hotel burned to the ground in March 1941. Park’s business was a total loss.
At the time the Goodall Hotel burned in 1941, 605 Public Square next to the Orpheum Theater was occupied by Campbell’s Drugs, but in 1942 Parks Pharmacy took up business there and Campbell’s moved their business to 200 N. Market St.
In the 1950’s, the business became listed as F.E. Parks and Son Pharmacy, since F.E. Park’s son, William “Bill” Parks, had become a registered pharmacist and was helping run the business in his father’s elder years.
Ernest Parks passed away in the same year of 1955 and the business fell to his son Bill Parks who continued operating the business until 1966 when it was sold to Irvan Trevathon. Irvan operated the drug store until 1990 when it was sold to Hook’s Drugs. Trevathon passed away in 2006.
(Data from Marion Fire Reports, Marion City Directories, Memory Kit ads, Federal Census Records; compiled by Sam Lattuca on 04/17/2013)