Pharmacy pioneers served unique needs of South Hannibal clientele

Pictured in front of Owens Drug Store at 509 Union Street are, from left, Charles W. Owens, Henry Owens, Robyn Owens (the little one) and Patty Owens. Photo contributed by Robyn Owens Culp.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

On Friday, Sept. 16, 1910, Frank and Henry Owens, proprietors of the Union Pharmacy, 501 Union St., South Hannibal, hosted a watermelon feast for South School students. According to a newspaper article of the day, the students, under the supervision of their principal, A.D. Stowell, walked from the new school, located at the corner of Clay and School streets, to the lot adjacent to Eales Grocery Store, which was located at 507-509 Union. 

There, courtesy of Frank and Henry, students devoured 100 watermelons in a 40-minute timespan.

The Owens brothers - both experienced pharmacy clerks - had purchased the existing Union Pharmacy, located at 501 Union - from W.R. Knight in early March 1910. The building in which they operated their business was owned by Edward Eales.

From Iowa

Frank Otto Owens (1873-1955) and Henry S. Owens (1875-1965) came to Hannibal from Bloomfield, Iowa, during the waning years of the 19th century, settling into their new town, which was nestled along the banks of the Mississippi River.

They would learn through experience that in this blue-collar town, hard work could be exchanged for a comfortable lifestyle.

By 1897, Frank Owens (older than Henry by nearly two years) was working as a prescription clerk for Ed DeGaris, in business at 325 Broadway.

When Henry S. Owens came to Hannibal circa 1898, he took a pharmacy job with Henry Walker and Son, who operated a drug store at 201 Third, (later renamed and numbered 701 Main)  South Hannibal.

Henry Owens, as a pharmacist, earned a certificate of registration from the State Board of Pharmacy in October 1911. (He later received a 50-year certificate from this same organization.)

Note: As explained in a previous story in this series on South Hannibal, the first pharmacist to locate in this new brick building on the corner of Union and Fifth (Birch) streets was John S. Heavenridge. By 1909, Heavenridge had moved to Pueblo, Colo., and a pharmacist by the name of W.R. Knight had taken over ownership of Union Pharmacy.

Timeline

In 1912 - two years after the Owens brothers went into partnership - Henry Owens bought out Frank Owens’ share of the business. It is calculated that at this time, the Owens pharmacy moved from what was originally known as 501 Union (on the east side of the street) to 509 Union, located on the west side of the street.

On Aug. 14, 1914, the Hannibal Courier-Post reported that W.J. Bennett purchased the Union Pharmacy, then located at 509 Union St., from Henry Owens.

In 1915, the property transferred back from Mr. Bennett to Henry Owens.

The succession of pharmacy owners at 509 Union St.:

1916: B.C. Wolf.

1918-1922, Frank Owens. In 1922, the pharmacy had been renamed Owen’s Drug Store.

1923-1938, Fred B. Bryan operated the drug store, at 509 Union, under his name.

1939, Henry S. Owens was once again operating the drug store at 509 Union. He and his wife, Hazel, lived upstairs, with their son, Charles W. Owens.

Owens families

Frank Owens (1873-1955) and his wife, Zeppa, (1872-1956) had just one child, a son, Edgar H. Owens, who was born circa 1899. Tragically, Edgar didn’t live to celebrate his 6th birthday, and is at eternal rest beside his parents at Hannibal’s Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

When Henry S. Owens came to Hannibal circa 1898, he was married to Mrs. Catharine Dickover. She died in 1910. He remarried on May 29, 1912, to Hazel M. Martin Owens, and they had one son: Charles Woodford Owens, 1921-1970.

Department store

During a respite from the pharmacy business, Henry S. Owens set out on another retail venture. He purchased an established business located at 617-619 S.  Main Street, South Hannibal, and for a time operated South Side Department Store. He purchased the business from B.A. Loomis.

The Dec. 30, 1913 edition of the Hannibal Morning Journal reported:

“Mr. Owens is well known to the South Side people, as he has had business connections on the South Side for the past fifteen years. He is good business man and will, without a doubt, make a success of the business. The stock of goods consists of women’s and children’s shoes, dry goods, notions, men’s furnishings, toys, etc. Mr. Owens states that he expects to enlarge the stock within a short time.”

Henry Owens temporarily resumed management of the pharmacy in 1915, and C.M. Boughton stepped in to manage the department store. Henry Owens continued to own this business until circa 1920, when he moved his family to Iowa. They subsequently moved back to Hannibal, and resumed operation of Owens Drug Store at 509 Union.

Ultimately, Charles Woodford Owens (1921-1970), son of Henry and Hazel Owens, assumed responsibility for the management of the pharmacy. He was a World War II veteran, and was married to Anna Emma Foote Owens (1927-2019). Charles had five children, Charlotte, Patty, Robyn, Rob and Dededra Lee.

(Note: Circa 1912, the numbering on Union Street changed. Even numbered addresses were on the south side of the street, and odd numbered addresses were on the north side of the street.)

NO-DAND-RUFF advertisement from the Hannibal Morning Journal, July 25, 1915. Newspapers.com

Henry Owens, who operated a department store on South Main Street for a few years, placed this advertisement in the Hannibal Morning Journal on July 12, 1914. Newspapers.com

Henry Owens was the recipient of a 50-year certificate from the Missouri Board of Pharmacy. He earned his original certificate of registration from the State Board of Pharmacy in October 1911. Courier-Post file photo contributed by his granddaughter, Robyn Culp.

Feature story on Henry Owen's wife, Hazel, published in the Hannibal Courier-Post Jan. 12, 1951. Newspapers.com