Thursday, June 26, 1997

42 years of pharmacy service comes to an end

By BOB BRUCE / Senior Staff Writer

Richard Templeton remembers when his parents opened the family business, Templeton Pharmacy, at 1718 Campus Court, across the street from what then was Abilene Christian College.

It was May 1955.

"I had a little Tonka milk truck I'd sit on and ride up and down the aisles," he said.

Richard was 4 -1/2 and his younger brother, Steve, was 18 months old, said their mother, Evelyn Templeton Fletcher.

"They both learned how to work in the store. They both worked for us until they went away from home," Mrs. Fletcher said.

Those were happy times.

Today, however, is expected to be a rather emotional occasion for the folks at Templeton Pharmacy, now located at 572 N. Judge Ely Blvd.

It marks the closing of the 42-year-old business, which has been sold to Eckerd Drug.

The records will be transferred to Eckerd Drug, 1083 N. Judge Ely, with Richard accompanying them, joining Eckerd as a pharmacist.

"It's economic. It's the general trend in the drug store industry," Richard said, explaining his reason for the sale.

Eckerd had offered to buy the business several times during the past 15 years, he said.

Changes have something to do with it, too, Richard said.

"The whole industry is changing daily," he said. "Managed care is the main thing behind it."

As the sole owner of Templeton Pharmacy, he has been working 50 to 60 hours a week. He admits he won't miss that.

"I own the building personally, so it'll be cleaned up and either leased or sold," he said.

At Eckerd, he says he's not going to "have a key to the door."

But the passing of Templeton Pharmacy is expected to leave somewhat of an empty spot in the lives of the four full-time and two part-time employees.

"It's been all of our lives since the mid-1950s," Richard said.

Mrs. Fletcher recalled opening the business with her husband, the late Ed Templeton.

"It was a bankrupt store when we bought it," she said. "It had less than $1,000 in inventory."

Mrs. Fletcher estimated it took her and Ed two years to get the business back on its feet to where they were paying the bills and having a good inventory.

Not only did the Templetons operate a pharmacy but a 90-seat cafeteria in the back, serving plate lunches and featuring a grill for breakfast and evening meals.

"It's been a service business," Mrs. Fletcher said. "We've always charged and sent the bills to the parents back home."

Ed also extended friendly advice and counseling.

"College kids come in. They just need somebody to talk to," she said.

"We've been their bank for one thing," Richard said, "being across the street from them."

The new job will be different, Richard acknowledged.

"It's been 17 years since I've been an employee," he said. That was when he stepped into the business, following the death of his father in a plane crash in October 1980.

Like his father, Richard, 46, received his pharmacy degree from the University of Texas in Austin - Richard in May 1974, Ed in 1950.

Templeton Pharmacy has had three locations during its 42 years: 1718 Campus Court from 1955-77, 829 N. Judge Ely from 1977-88 and 572 N. Judge Ely from 1988 to the present.

For many years it also was known as Templeton-Kimbrough Pharmacy during a partnership between Ed Templeton and Joe Kimbrough.

"If you perform the services that people need, they'll support you," Richard said. "Nothing has changed. That's still a good principle."