Lebanon Pharmacy History – Bob & Betty Adams

On Wednesday, June 12, the Lebanon Museum Foundation will hold the second of its 2019 local history programs. Bob and Betty Adams, former owners of Adams Pharmacy in Lebanon, will tell tales of their 27 years of running the downtown drugstore and display pharmaceutical relics that they inherited with the store. The program will take place in the back room (the old Lebanon Hotel dining room) of the Lobby, 661 South Main St., at 2:00 p.m. This event is open to the public and free to all.

The Adams Pharmacy was in the Donaca Building, owned by the Masons, who had their lodge upstairs (the building is now undergoing renovation). Bob Adams was the pharmacist, Betty Adams served as bookkeeper and gift buyer, and “older ladies” worked at the soda fountain. Because a Rexall drugstore had been in the building or the one next door since the 1880s, the Adams found a lot of antiquated supplies and equipment when they started their business. These items tell fascinating stories about the development of the pharmacy trade, both in general and in Lebanon in particular.