Thanksgiving at Korner Drug

It was a time of preparation, the week before Thanksgiving in the 1970's when I was a kid. The moms were home, polishing silver, washing and waxing the windows and soaking the good dishes for the big day - Turkey Day! Now a lot of women hold in their hearts memories of helping their mothers with these tasks, but for me, I was at Korner Drug helping dad gear up for the Christmas shopping season. Early in the fall saleswomen from Revlon, Max Factor, and Canon Cameras would start to appear to take our Christmas gift giving order. I believe it was a mix of bravery and insight, so much was at stake! If you by too much cologne that turns out to be stinky, then you're going to have some expensive alcohol. Or if you choose stuffed animals that the kids don't connect with, then you've got dirty, dusty teddy bears come spring. I always helped Ethel unpack the perfume shipments, the gift sets of Jovan Musk and Love's Baby Soft. The expensive bottles of Chanel No. 5 or No. 2, I wasn't allow to touch those. Windsong, Charlie, Jean Nate', Cachet were all so popular. For men I remember Hi Karate, English Leather, Old Spice and Brut. It was a tedious job, counting to make sure the shipment was correct, then using the price gun to affix the price on each bottle. One of my favorite jobs was to wrap all the Russell Stover candy that First Commonwealth Bank would buy for their very best customers. I remember cases stacked upon cases that were just waiting for me to wrap after school in that dusty store room behind the pharmacy. Scissors were always in high demand, and always getting lost. One day after a long search for scissors dad got a piece of twine and tied them to a post in the pharmacy. Satisfied, he walked away firm in the knowledge that his prized scissors would never been taken! Imagine his horror when later he went to look for them and lo and behold; someone had used the scissors to cut the twine. Laughter filled the store as we watched him storm up to Arrowoods to buy a chain! Soon the Ambassador Cards shipment would come in. That was a task! Each different Christmas card type would have it's pre-destined home in the rack, the kid's cards together, the cards for lovers and friends and neighbors, all decorated in reds and greens and vivid blues. All the racks had to be cleaned and dusted before unpacking the boxes in the week before Thanksgiving. It was also time to decorate the windows with tinsel and paper. Dad would give me like 10 bucks and allow me to go "uptown" to purchase tinsel ropes, garland and holly to decorate the tree that we would have in the window. We always had trouble with the sun pulling the color out of the boxes, so we had to be creative to showcase our items for sale. We always used Fostoria for the windows and we would rotate the boxes of perfume and cameras in and out of the window to protect the boxes. The camera department was Hern's domain. He made all the camera decisions and had to keep all the film, batteries and flash bulbs well stocked for Christmas Eve shoppers. Eventually Dad and our pharmacist, Burl Whitt, got involved in the camera purchases, especially for the more expensive Canon cameras. Oh how I wish I had paid attention to all the great photography tips they shared around giant cups of coffee! Everything you wanted and needed, could be had on Court Street, Prestonsburg Kentucky. I imagine that some people have fond memories of shopping trips to bigger cities, but not me. I chose the toys that I wanted from Arrowood's or Ben Franklin's. If dad was getting mom clothes, naturally they came from Francis Stores or BF Casual, jewelry from Wright Brothers or Clyde Burchett's. Our world existed on the two blocks, that was our shopping district. Thanksgiving sure takes me back!