RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 9, 2020
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
“Fifty-two Years of Service” is the title of another article about an old-timer found on page 49 of the September 1929 (Volume 50, Number 4) of The Texas Druggist. Also interesting is the subtitle, “R. W. Kindel, a Veteran of 82 Years Age, Still Able to Make His Daily Dozen.” A picture of the pharmacist accompanies the article. (Some punctuation may be added or deleted in the narrative for clarity. Surnames are capitalized for emphasis.)
“...KINDEL served as vice-president of the Texas Pharmaceutical Association in 1888 and, in spite of his advanced age, he is still actively engaged in the practice of his profession. The story taken from the Springtown News is interesting and I am sure our members will...wish to join us in hearty greetings to the old veteran of Parker County.”
‘Weatherford boasts probably the oldest man—in point of service—actively engaged in the drug business in Texas. He is R. W. KINDEL, 82, who still manages his drug store on North Main, Weatherford, after 59 years as a pharmacist in Texas.
Kindel was born in Tennessee in 1847 and came to Texas in the spring of 1868. He became 21 in August of the same year, so his first vote was cast in Texas, as have his votes in every election since.
His first experience in a drug store was with the Dr. Miller Drug Company at Weatherford. In 1870, he purchased half interest in a business in Stephenville but returned the next year to marry Fannie ALLISON, daughter of Col. R. D. ALLISON, who has been a member of both the Tennessee and Texas Senates and who had been one of the defenders of Texas and a Confederate soldier.
At Stephenville, the young druggist and his bride moved into a home composed of one room and a lean-to. This was not completed when they returned home from their honeymoon, so the groom, after his duties at the drug store were finished, worked on the house while his wife supplied light by holding a lantern.
Kindel came back to Weatherford several years later and founded the first castor oil mill west of the Mississippi River.’
The article then provides quotes from Kindel: ‘The drug business was different in those days...We compounded all our tinctures, made all plasters and manufactured many medicines which pharmacists today buy from wholesale houses. Machinery has largely replaced the old tile in turning out pills.’
“Kindel was served as an officer of the Texas Pharmaceutical Association in the past and still is active in the organization. However, he was unable to attend the fiftieth annual convention in Fort Worth last week.”
(End)
The miscellaneous items below also appear in the September 1929 issue.
Page 56 – “R. T. CHAMBERS, a prominent druggist of San Antonio, was seriously injured when struck by an automobile as he stepped from a street car near his home on September 3rd. He suffered a fracture of the skull and his condition is critical....”
Page 42 – “It seems that in many sections of the state, they are beginning to discover that druggists make first-class mayors. The latest to be accorded this honor is Mr. C. W. CUNNINGHAM of the firm of Cunningham & Philips (sic) of Big Spring. Any man who can successfully direct the business affairs of three drug stores is certainly qualified to look after the affairs of even so prosperous and fast-growing city as Big Spring....”
(End)