The Wickel Years—1875–1915

When Naperville Physicians Daniels and Morse opened a small pharmacy in the heart of the young town of Naperville in 1875, they could not have known of its future impact on the city. Two years later, in 1877, the pharmacy was purchased by William Wickel. Thus began more than 120 years of ownership by his family.

In the years following the Civil War, pharmacy was a hybrid business, combining the science of medicine with a general store. When customers entered the store they were met by the scent of oils and herbs. As well as medicines, items offered for sale ran the gamut from books to paint and wallpaper. Pharmacies were able to offer morphine, hashish and opium until 1914, when the Harrison Narcotic Act banned or restricted those drugs.

Pharmacies like Wickel’s would become the health and communications center of town. Doctors prescribed, but customers often asked the pharmacist to counter-prescribe. The store’s pharmacist was available right from the beginning to offer advice and help whenever needed. By all accounts, W.W. Wickel was a much loved and benevolent member of the Naperville community.

“Doc” Wickel and his clerks worked 11-hour days and it only took an apprenticeship and passing an exam to become a pharmacist. Most of the drugs they offered actually came from Europe.

The Oswald Years—1915–1953

Louis Oswald purchased the pharmacy from his father-in-law in 1915. He gave it the name still used today and took the pharmacy through some tumultuous years. Prohibition drove customers from the pubs into his store, as many patent medicines of the time had high alcohol content.

Because the pharmacy opened a soda fountain in 1917, they may have offered the new sensation, Coca Cola. (It actually contained cocaine at that time.)

Before 1920, more than 70% of Oswald’s prescriptions were compounded from scratch by the pharmacist, but World War I changed that. Unable to get drugs from Europe on a regular basis, new American drug manufacturers began to fill the void.

In 1919 the business became a Rexall store, a happy affiliation that would last through the 70s. The 1920s roared in and Oswald’s Pharmacy was able to offer cigars, cigarettes, and cosmetics—highly influenced by America’s fascination with the movies and movie stars. Oswald’s was also a major purveyor of Vitamins C and E and insulin when introduced in the 1920s. And they offered the new Kodak Cameras for $5 and up.

Paint and varnish were still sold in the drugstore at that time. For the farming community, Drs. Hess and Clark livestock remedies and tonic were carried.

Harold Kester, a young pharmacist from Downers Grove came to work for Mr. Oswald in 1930, and he was to have a great impact on the future of the business. A year later he married his boss’s daughter.

From 1930 to 1938 Oswald’s sponsored a Doll Contest with the winners to be announced on Christmas morning. Among the prizes were toys for both girls and boys. The store would be packed with excited children waiting to hear if they were among the lucky ones. The Pharmacy remained open the rest of Christmas Day so that the community had access to medicinal needs, last-minute gifts, and film and flash bulbs.

In 1932, pharmacists were required to have a college degree and pass a professional licensing examination. Prescription compounding was at its zenith. Then came the Great Depression and tough times for everyone. Los Angeles lost half of their drugstores by 1937. In Naperville, Oswald’s still managed to survive. A North Central College student employed by the store in the 30s could expect 25 cents an hour and was happy to have the job.

In the depth of the Depression, Mr. Oswald would borrow $1000 dollars from the Naperville National Bank on Kroehler Furniture paydays in order to cash Kroehler employees’ checks. The bank closed at 3PM before the end of the furniture manufacturer’s workday, and money was very tight in those times. The paychecks seldom amounted to more than $25 for a week’s work! Mr. Oswald did this as a courtesy, and he would repay the bank the following day.

Perhaps a custom peculiar to small towns of the period was the closing of the downtown businesses each Wednesday afternoon. Oswald’s never participated in this afternoon of leisure, but instead remained open for customers. The store was open 7:30 in the morning till 11:00 at night except Saturday when the store was open until midnight! From the early twenties until 1997, the store was open 365 days a year, over 27,000 consecutive days!

During the thirties, items such as baby formula, baby powder, toothpaste and shampoo could only be purchased in a drugstore. The same store also sold denatured alcohol to be used as antifreeze, and arsenate of lead to kill potato bugs!

The Rexall 1 Cent Sale, held each Spring and Fall from 1930 through 1970, was very popular with customers. Great savings were had by buying a Rexall item, say rubbing alcohol, at regular price, and the second of that same item cost 1 cent.

Then came World War II. Life changed for all. Everyone did what they could to aid the war effort. Help was very difficult to find. Women began to work at Oswald’s. Slowly the shelves in the drugstore became self-service, and displays became more open to compete with the newly emerging supermarkets.

Enormous progress was made in medicine in the 1940s and 50s. The sulfa drugs were some of the first, then came penicillin, and the first “mycins.”

The Naper Theater was immediately across Jefferson Street from Oswald’s, and Ozzie’s soda fountain was a popular after-movie stop. Hot summer weather called for a cooling ice cream soda, strawberry milkshake, or perhaps a Green River or Chocolate Coke. Winter was the time for hot chocolate or a hot fudge sundae. There were three soda booths as well as the stools at the fountain where people could sit and enjoy their refreshments. Ice cream cones cost 5 cents for one dip, a dime for two.

Saturday night was the time for the farm community to do their shopping and have a “night on the town.” The downtown stores remained open and things were humming. Oswald’s stocked things that farmers needed such as Penstix and Bag Balm for their cows’ udders.

The Kester Years—1952–1977

Harold Kester purchased Oswald’s Pharmacy from his father-in-law in 1952. He was greeted by strong competition from the evolving chain drug store industry. Walgreen’s was just over 50 years old and growing. Shopping centers were replacing “Main Street” as the place to shop. But not to be discouraged, Kester beat the chains on service and convenience. Free delivery to customers was but one service offered.

While regulatory issues hounded the chains, Mr. Kester used his Rexall affiliation to bring unique, popular items such as Super Plenamins, Thru and Bisma-Rex to his customers. And the Rexall 1 Cent Sale continued to bring in crowds of customers when in progress.

Top perfume and cosmetic lines such as Elizabeth Arden, Prince Matchabelli, Du Barry, and Revlon were introduced. Cosmeticians were hired to help the customers with their selections.

To find room for all these exciting product lines, Mr. Kester had to close the soda fountain in 1960, thus ending a special part of Americana for Naperville. The next step was to double the size of the existing store by buying the adjacent building to the east and completely remodeling. In 1968, the store was enlarged to the alley, and a convenient rear entrance was added.

Being an avid reader, Mr. Kester saw the need for a bookstore in Naperville, so he opened Paperback Paradise (now Anderson’s Bookshop) above the pharmacy in October 1964. Two extremely capable local women, Marjorie Malm and Betty Morrow, were the managers. The business ultimately was so successful that hardcovers were added, and a move up Jefferson Avenue was necessary.

The Robert Anderson Years—1977–1991

Oswald’s was purchased in 1977 from Harold Kester by his son-in-law Robert Anderson who had joined the firm in the early 60s. By now all small, family-owned pharmacies in America were under attack by chains, discount stores, supermarkets, and mail-order providers.

While more and more Illinois independent pharmacies went out of business, Bob Anderson successfully steered Oswald’s through these tough, tough times. He pioneered the introduction of money-saving generic prescription drugs to his customers. But reluctantly he was forced to enter into contracts with prescription insurance plans. Things looked bleak for the future of pharmacies like Oswald’s.

But Bob Anderson succeeded because he maintained something that no other competitor had – caring, personal service to a community that had trusted his pharmacy for more than 100 years!

The Next Generation

In 1991 Bob and Jean Anderson’s children, Tres, Bill, Becky and Peter bought the business from them. The store has continued to evolve as the huge cosmetic department of the sixties gave way to a wider variety of cards and gifts. The One Cent Sale and other circular promotions have given way to renewed emphasis on the core pharmacy business.

In 1996 we began carrying a line of stuffed animals called Beanie Babies. By 1997 customers were buying them by the dozen. Mr. Kester commented at the time, as people lined up 50 deep at the cashier, that he had worked here for over 50 years and had never seen anything like it.

Managed health care and the chain pharmacies continue to present challenges to Oswald’s today, but our commitment to our customer has allowed us to enter our third century of doing business in downtown Naperville. We thank all of our customers, past, present and future, for the pleasure of serving them.