Nevius Hall
By Phyllis Badgley
Many Bakerites remember the Nevius Hall, a multi-purpose building
named for early day Rector of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.
The Hall was located South of the present church, on first Street,
off Broadway. I recall large columns graced the entranceway, and
lovely hardwood floors sparkled in the large auditorium. An elevated
stage held a Steinway Grand piano. A roll down curtain featured ads
from local businesses, among them were H. C.Stevens Co., Klover Kist
Creamery, and C. R. Butson, Insurance.
My sister Alma and I were music students of Mrs. Homer West (Dorothy
Blake). The piano teacher chose to have Springtime recitals in the
Nevius Hall where the public could attend. I remember going to the
Hall to practice on the Steinway prior to program day. The
auditorium was very cold and the piano keys stiff. Numb fingers
resulted. On one occasion, Mrs. West placed a hot water bottle on
piano keys to warm the ivories. I now have a full appreciation for
heating systems with easy dial thermostats! Piano students I recall
on the same program were Audrey Kirkendall, Nancy Russell, and 3
sisters, Jackie, Doone, and Eileen Eccles.
During the 30's and 40's other private piano teachers I remember
were: Mrs. Little, Birdie Bushnell, Ave Steiger, Florence Franch,
Mrs. Eylar Staight, and Srs. Of St. Francis at the academy.
The Nevius Hall was used as a USO canteen during the war years.
Servicemen from local Camp Baker were entertained there at USO
weekend dances. Coffee, cookies, and apples were made available. The
Hall had a reading room and letter writing facility. Local
benefactor Erma Russell (Mother of Nancy McCullough) shipped boxes
of apples overseas to these servicemen after they departed Camp
Baker.
During the time St. Stephens remodeled their church, parishioners
worshipped in Nevius Hall. The Hall was razed in the early 1950's.
(Webmasters Note: I remember this building very well as my father and husband to be
were the ones who tore down this building)
Early Baker City Drug Stores
By Phyllis Badgley
Druggist play an important role in the well-being of everyone.
Early Baker City records show J. Wisdom drugstore on the south west
corner of Valley and Front (now Main Street). That precedes my
recollection. The first building I recall there, in the 1930s,
housed J. C. Penny Co. today it's the home of Ryder Bros.
Stationery.
I do remember several pharmacies that lined Baker's Main Street.
Muegge Drug Co., owned by Norman and Irene Muegge, was located at
1813 Main Street, I have a picture copied from a glass negative
showing the interior of that early 1900s establishment. It was
possibly taken in February as valentines are displayed on wire
stretched overhead. Also shown is a taxidermy piece, a large eagle,
against the back wall, which shares space with crutches and a
pendulum clock. Storeowner Muegge is third from left in the photo.
The customer, second from left, is well dressed in a suit, but also,
his shoes are encrusted with Front Street mud. Obviously, asphalt
paving was still in the future.
Irene Muegge was a sister to Mamie Cavin and Elizabeth Warfel, the
two donors of the famous rock collection at Oregon Trail Museum.
Muegge Drug was later sold to John Norton, who owned the pharmacy
for about 20 years. The building now displays its historic stature
and houses Betty's Books.
Rodamar Drug was at 1913 Main, most recent location of Mack and Son
Jewelers, until they closed shop a few months ago.
In the same block, at 1925 Main, Parsons Pharmacy was located
between Baker Packing Co. and Connie Grabb Smoke Shop. Pharmacy
owners, Walt and Peg Parsons, had two daughters schooled locally.
Joan Parsons, Baker High Class of '42 and Patty, who graduated
later. The Flower Box presently occupies the former pharmacy
building.
In those late "30s, if a young man was ambitious and dependable, he
and his bicycle would likely be hired for after-school deliveries.
He might also garner a similar position with Western Union located
in the Geiser Hotel building.
Levinger Drug, first established by Louis Levinger, would later be
operated by son, Henry. I remember in the '40s, Mrs. Edith Baxa, an
employee who developed film orders right on the premises, at 2015
Main. In December 1958, a disastrous fire erupted at Levinger Drug.
Fire departments from several surrounding towns were summoned to
help quell the blaze. From the ruins, enough stock was salvaged to
immediately set up shop half a block away at First and Broadway
(present home of Pioneer Bank). Sawhorses, topped with sheets of
plywood provided space for merchandise. Upon rebuilding at the Main
Street location, Levingers chose to install laminated beams, then
the largest in Eastern Oregon. The stores slogan remained constant:
"We have four registered pharmacists to serve you." They were Henry
Levinger, John Burges, O.D. "Jay" McKee and Charlotte Ward.
Payless Drug came to Baker in 1937, located in the 1900 block, on
the east side of Main Street, one door north of Royal Café, present
location of Western Auto Store. It was opened by Buford and Blanche
Morris (children Robert and Jacquie). Registered pharmacist Sherman
Allen joined them. Allen is retired now, and resides in Baker City
with his wife, Pansey. After the death of Mr. Morris, his widow
married Thomas Lampkin, and moved away, Rod Crosby and wife,
Dorothea, became Payless managers during the 1940s. Later, Joe
Teeter and wife, Dorothy, acquired the business. In recent years,
Payless Drug was sold, enlarged and moved to Campbell Street next to
Safeway. It now operates under the name of Rite-Aid.
We've come a long way from the mortar/pestle image when a druggist
prepared healing powders "from scratch." We experienced their
elixirs concocted for cough and congestion ad progressed through an
era of the sulfa drugs. When local doctor Palmer McKim first
prescribed sulfa for me, in the prescription he noted, "no eggs or
meat" to be ingested while taking the drug. Apparently sulfa didn't
absorb well in the presence of proteins.
World War II brought about the introduction of many new drug
remedies.
In 1944, the miracle drug penicillin was making its debut. I was a
student nurse in Tacoma, Wash., that year, when penicillin was
authorized for the first patient use there. People were amazed to
learn its source was from a mold grown in a lab.
Currently, antibiotic prescriptions are being filled by druggists,
enabled by technology, to order remedies "over the wire." Who knows
what the future holds? In our proposed inhabiting of outer planets,
perhaps space doctors will prescribe remedies labeled "Moon-shine,"
"Galaxy Tea," or a few bites of "Milky Way!"
Printed here with the permission of
Baker City Herald
