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Expert Planning Produces
Modern Retail Drug Store
More than a year of inten-<
sive planning went into the
new Morehead City Drug
Co. store to produce a drug
establishment which retail
store experts objectively de
scribe as the best of its kind
in the entire eastern United
States.
There are bigger drug stores but
none quite as good. Two store
planning engineers were employed
by W. C. Matthews, owner and
manager, to draw and suggest
plans and the best features of both
were used. ,
The new store, located in the
Leary building in the space former
ly occupied by the Rose 5 & 10
has 4,300 square feet of floor
space, nearly double that of the
old store which was located sev
eral doors to the west.
Mr. Matthews is owner of the
building in which are housed
Leonard's Dress Shop, the A&P
store and his recently vacated
store. The latter will soon house
the Commercial National Bank of
Kinston, a newcomer to Carteret
County.
Rather than ask either of his
tenants to move to make room for
his own bigger store, Mr. Matthews
leased the Leary building for a
long perked of years.
Plate Glass Front
Forty feet of plate glass, 10 feet
high, flanked by pillars of cut
stone, form the front of the new
store. The floor is terrazo. The in
side height of the store is 15 feet
and the whole is lighted by con
tinuous ribbons of fluorescent
tubes and hidden cornice lights.
Without producing glare from
either the expansive windows or
the lights, the store is probably the
lightest, airiest retail establish
ment anyone has ever been in.
Each visitor to the store tomorrow
on its formal opening can be judge
of this for himself.
The luncheonette department
seats 65 at 33 stools arranged at
"bin" counters and at 32 booth
seats. All fixtures are of chrome
and plastic, partially for beauty
but mainly for efficient sanitation.
Short orders, sandwiches, salads,
soups, are prepared in open view
of customers. Heavier meals are
prepared in the kitchen to the rear
where," as elsewhere throughout the
store, the equipment is tWe "best
' and most modern.
All motors, compressors, walk-in
ice box and similar equipment are
housed in a building which was
erected directly behind the big
building. This was done to cut
down noise and heat.
Toilet facilities are sparkling
chrome steel and porcelain immac
ulately kept.
Pastel Shades
The walls are painted in various
light pastel shades. Most of them
were painted several times in order
to achieve just the right shading,
, another indication that the store
just didn't grow overnight.
On the drug side, the fixtures
are arranged for self service but a
store personnel of 28 is on hand to
help customers. The reason is this:
Morehead City Drug Co. stocks
more than 7.000 items! Keeping
up with inventory requires the full
time of two people.
The prescription department was
built particularly large. Its per
sonnel today is two registered
pharmacists and an assistant but it
can accommodate more if neces
sary.
Genera] offices are located on
NEWEST ONE COAT
WALL PAINT
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Atlantic Highway
Phona 2-4A71 Beaufort
54 Yaora Ago
Morehead City Drug Company
Was Once Ballance, Dill & Co.
W. C. Matthews Builds One
Of Town's Best Businesses
It took more than know-how for
W. C. Matthews to make a success
of his drug store. The desire to
make good, persistence, and honest
to goodness diligence are woven
into the thriving enterprise that is
so outstanding in Morehead City
today, the Morehead City Drug
Company.
Mr. Matthews, or "Buck" as he
is known to the townspeople and
all his friends, came up the hard
way. He was born and reared on
a farm four miles from Spring
Hope and after a high school edu
cation away from home (his home
community had no high school) he
returned to Spring Hope and work
ed in the only drug store there
from 1924 to 1929.
Marries la 1928
On Aug. 9, 1928, Mr. Matthews
and the former Delia Austin, also
reared on a farm, were married.
She lived just outside Clayton. It
was in February of the following
year that the young couple came
to Morehead City to make their
home and open their business.
George W. Dill Sr. owned the
pharmacy in Morehead City at that
time, but he had decided to sell it,
and Mr. Matthews realized the op
portunity it afforded. He purchased
the store which was then located
in the space now occupied by
Leary's Men's Store. During those
days Morehead City was a fishing
town, and the little drug store ade
quately supplied the needs of the
residents.
For 10 years "Buck" carried on
his business from that original lo
cation. In 1939 Dr. C. G. Ferebee
had completed the Ferebee Build
ing which now houses Leonard's
Dresi Shop, the AlcP store, and
the space from which Morehead
City Drug.pp. has- juat moved to
its ~ne# quarters in the Leary
(Paragon) building. Mr. Matthews
bought the Ferebee building about
1940.
Depression Hits
Looking at the new store today
it may be difficult to realize that
Morehead City Drug Co. almost
failed. Less than a year after Mr.
Matthews bought the Dill store, the
stock market crash of 1929 nearly
engulfed him.
The height of the depression
years hit right at the heart of the
Matthews' family life. In 1931 their
first child was born, a son named
W. C. Jr.
In 1934 another son was born.
This "depression baby" is W. A.,
more commonly called Bobby. At
the time each of the babies was
the mezzanine.
The entire second story of the
building is devoted to warehouse
space where at all times there is
more merchandise than on the
floor.
n. t. Maimews
. . . success crowns work
born Mr. Matthews recalls, he
could barely take time out from
the business to sec much of them.
He says it was not because busi
ness happened to be so good at
that time, but there were only two
clerks employed then, and it took
Mr. Matthews and his two helpers
the biggest part of every day to
attend to routine matters within
the store.
The elder son, W. C. Jr.,'was re
cently discharged from the Marine
Corps, and is now affiliated with
his father. He married last month
and is living at 104 N. 21st St.
Bobby, the younger, is in his
second year at the School of Phar
macy, Chapel Hill.
In Civic Affairs
In his busy life, Mr. Matthews
currently finds time to serve on
the Morehead City Pilotage Board
and the Morehead City Racing
Commission.
He was a member of the More
head City School Board for 12
years and served as chairman for
five of those years.
He has been a member of Rotary
Club for 20 years. He is a charter
member of the Beaufort-Morehead
City Elks Club and a 32nd degree
Mason.
He is a past president of the
Morehead City Chamber of Com
merce and served for a time on the
Morehead City Recreation Com
mission. The Matthews attend the
First Baptist Church.
The only thing he can't find
time to do is to play golf at More
head City Golf Club, of which he
has been one of the staunchest
supporters.
People who live on farms nuke
up about IS per cent of the pop
ulation of the United States and
have about 5 per cent of U. S. in
come.
? What is now known as the More
head City Drug Co. was once Bal
lance. Dill and Co. This firm was
started in May 1900 by the late
George W. Dill in partnership with
C. D. Ballance and Dr. W. E.
Headen.
It was located in a one-story
frame building at 8th and Arendell
streets where Hardware and Build
ing Supply now stands. The en
trance door was set in the angle
of the building with several steps
leading into the store. In 1903 the
town newspaper announced that
the drug store had installed a new
fountain at a cost of $600.
Within three years after its
?tart, Mr. Dill bought out his part
First Drug Store . . .
Id 1884 Phillip Upper built a
house on 10th street, using a part
of it to house a drug store.
His is said to have been the
first drug store in Morehead City.
Nnnfroa
i OCRACOKE
L ? r%,
March 29 ? The Woman's Society
of the Methodist Church will hold
its April meeting Monday after
noon at the church. The Sophia
Williams Circle will meet Tuesday
night, April 6, with Mrs. Bertha
O'Neal. On Friday night, April 9,
members of the Sophia Williams
Circle will present a one-act com
edy in the school auditorium.
Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Garrish and
Danny spent several days last week
in Norfolk.
Mrs. Clarence Scarborough, Mrs.
Edward C. O'Neal, Edward Car
son O'Neal, Mrs. Ruby Garrish,
Mrs. Wilma Williams. Mr. and Mrs.
David F. O'Neal, Mrs. Minnie Spen
cer, Mrs. Ronald O'Neal, Mr. and
Mra. Thurston G. Gaskill, Mrs.
Lena Bragg, and Mrs. Marian Aus
tin were in Beaufort and Morshead
City recently.
Mrs. Laura Bragg has received
word of the marriage on Saturday
of her granddaughter, Barbara Ann
Bragg, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Stacy Bragg of Wilmington. N. C.
to William Stewart McCullough.
Mrs. McCullough is completing her
senior year at Woman's College in
Greensboro. Her husband is an en
sign in the U. S. Navy and leaves
May 1st for an eight months'
cruise in the Mediterranean.
Owen Gaskill is back from a
visit with friends in Pennsylvania.
Here for the funeral services for
Mrs. Susan Scarborough were Mr.
and Mrs. Alton Scarborough of Ped
rickton, N. J., Mr. Ernest Scarbor
ough of Audubon, N. J., Mrs. Felix
Flieg of Newport News, Mrs. Stacy
Simpson of Norfolk. Mr. and Mrs.
Williams Bounds, Mr. and Mrs.
Frank Parsons of Ocean City, Md.,
and Mrs. Vera Robinson of Hat
teras.
Congratulations
Mr. Matthews . . .
ON THE FORMAL
OPENING OF YOUR
FINE NEW STORE
... A GRAND ADDITION
TO GROWING
MOREHEAD CITY
JOHN L. CRUMP
R?qlfor - Insurer
828 Arandell St
Merakwd City
PboiM 8-4000
n^iiiii ? i nm
There've Been Some Changes Made
This b Um Paragon build
ing. At the right la Ike
drug (tare operated by the
late George w. DUI. He
said It la in* to W. C.
Matthews. Mr. Nalthewi
later bought the Ferebee
building and waa in busl
aru there until laat month
when he moved back into
the Paragon building. The
drug atnre, shiny and mod
em, la now in the space
shown at the left of this
picture.
Next to it, through the
archway, is located today
the newwtand of Dan
Wade, and to the right of
that is Leary's Store far
Men.
This picture is from a
photograph made by F. C.
Salisbury.
ners and in 1929 sold the store to
the present owner, W. C. Matthews.
? The brick building in which
Hardware and Building Supply it
located was built by the late D. G;
Bell and the little wooden building
where the drug store was located
ll
was moved to a location on Evans
street next to the Star Fish Co.
which uped to stand on the *:te
now occupied by an Esso Servicc
Station.
For several years the late J. R.
Bell used the building as a storage
and sales room for hay and feed.
Following the fire of 1908 when
most of the wooden structures be
tween 8th and 9th street* were de
stroyed, the late L. L. Leary put
up the present Paragon building in
which to conduct a mercantile
business. Mr. Dill moved into the
building in 1912, from his 8th and
Arendell street location, in the
space now occupied by Leary's Men
Shop and there he operated the
Morehead City Drug Store until it
was taken over by Mr. Matthews.
ll
WE
INSTALLED
i
THE
AND REMODELED THE
HEATING SYSTEM
IN THE NEW
MOREHEAD CITY
DRUG STORE
#
CONGRATULATIONS Mr. Matthews on the formal opening of
your beautiful new store ... a wonderful addition to Morehead
City. Thanks for calling on us to install the plumbing and re
model the heating system in your ultra modern store.
It you're planning to build or
remodel ? Call On Us...
Perry M. Taylor, Jr.
PLUMBING and HEATING CONTRACTORS
? i r? 1 ' ? , ' *
- Morahead City
1706 Shacklaford Ave. Phone 6-4533