Raney Drug Store

 

(Click photo to enlarge)

Raney Drug Store located at 460 N. Franklin in downtown Colby, Kansas was owned by Richard Raney, Clarence Bower and P. D. Frederick. Raney, from Osborne, owned a chain of stores also including Lawrence and Ottawa. This picture of the west side of the 400 block of Franklin Avenue is in our photo collection. The pickup truck from the early 1950's is a good clue to help date photos. Looks like the store fronts were decorated for some kind of celebration. Traffic cones along the curb probably indicate plans for a parade.

Drug stores typically supplied physicians with a pad of prescription forms. The doctor would write the prescription and give it to the patient to be filled at the pharmacy of their choice. With three competing drug stores in town, a little subtle advertising on the prescription form didn't hurt! This is a great example of the contents of our documents archives.

Pills were dispensed in small cardboard boxes with hinged lids. A typed label inside the lid included the patients name, instructions, date, and physician's name. These small boxes were in common use into the 1960's when plastic bottles became available. Two pill boxes in excellent condition from Raney Drug Store were recently added to the Prairie Museum of Art & History artifact collection.