Saying Good-Bye to a Local Walgreens

Breathing has become a real challenge the last couple of weeks, and I've been desperate to find something that would help. I made a quest for relief during my lunch break last Thursday. I journeyed to the Walgreens that is near my place of employment.

I had read the store was closing, but I wasn't prepared for what seeing the nearly empty shelves did to my soul. It resembled sites I haven't beheld in several years. I was suddenly twenty years old again with uncertainty trying to drown me.

You see, I worked at our local Joplin Walgreens from 1990 to 1992. It was located at Northpark Mall and was my first job dealing with the public as I made my way through college. I was one of the unfortunate people who was forced to pack up the store when it closed in the spring of 1992. Therefore, I recognized the looks on the faces of those employees who were packing up merchandise on West 7th Street as I searched for the Vicks.

Losing my job was tough but losing a store that had opened in that location the year I was born, seemed more devastating. Many of my coworkers had been employed by that store for several years and were above the ideal age to be changing jobs. A few of them worked to supplement their Social Security and make ends meet. As a college student, I was simply looking for a part-time night and weekend job. My coworkers needed something a bit more stable with better hours.

A few years after the corporate powers made us close our store, they built a new one in town. Then another and another. I've often thought it was dirty pool to close our store only to open newer and nicer ones within five years. What exactly was the point in that?

Now, they are closing the one on West 7th Street, which hasn't been able to keep a pharmacist in the past few years. I was afraid this would happen. While Walgreens isn't my favorite store, it's a place I've grown to count on to have whatever over the counter remedies I need.

Located a few minutes from work, it has been easy to run up there, grab what I needed, and get back to work within my allotted 30-minute lunch break. Even in their winding down phase, they still had the little Vicks inhaler I sought. I managed to spend around $45.00 on allergy medicine, cough suppressant, tissues, and other sundry items.

As I walked down nearly empty aisles in the silent store where I was the only customer, I remembered how my own customers so long ago had been angry that we didn't clearance anything out. They were expecting great bargains and found regular prices. People got ugly with me as if everything was my fault, which is why I was extremely nice to the cashier who rang up my expensive purchases. After all, she'll only be there a few more weeks, there's no need to make this harder on her.

Even though it broke my heart to see the store in its current state, I'm glad I went there. For the past 16 years that I have worked for my employer, I have been able to run to Walgreens just a few blocks away for a quick purchase. I'm glad I was able to say good-bye. I sincerely wish the employees the very best.

Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven! If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please join me again next week for more Ozarks Maven.

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