Happy Birthday, People’s Drug! Serving the community for 102 years

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People’s Drug will celebrate its 102 year anniversary with continued dedication to its customers and deals for all. The pharmacy was established in 1921 around April 15th by Joseph Gerache and Charles Kette.

The Gerache family continued to run the business for over five decades before it passed to employee John Bove’. Under Bove’ the store thrived and underwent an extensive renovation which gave the shop a much needed office.

When Bove’ was diagnosed with cancer, he began planning to sell the business to a seasoned employee as his bosses did when choosing him. The ideal candidate was found in pharmacy technician, Wendy Trevilion.

Originally from Port Gibson, Trevilion has been a pharmacy technician for over 20 years. Though initially reluctant to accept the responsibility as owner, Trevilion finally gave in to the role about four years ago after accepting Mr. Bove’s encouragement as well as a successful request for a loan as divine planning. “God put me in this path,” Trevilion concluded.

Yet the endeavor has not been without its challenges. As a technician owner, Trevilion has had to be mindful of certain limitations and plan accordingly.

“The hardest part about not being a pharmacist and owning a pharmacy is that you have to have plenty of pharmacists on hand,” she explained, referring to the law that says a Pharmacist must be present for a pharmacy to be open. Luckily, according to Trevilion, People’s Pharmacy has been blessed with about 10 very reliable pharmacists who do their part to keep things running consistently.

Aided by her staff, Trevilion strives to run a pharmacy that accepts change, but that honors what made it great to begin with. “If you have a formula that works, don’t mess it up,” said Trevilion.

In that spirit, Trevilion honors the same promise of free delivery within the city as made by People’s previous stewards. People’s also offers low prices on many convenience items, foods, etc in their value aisle.

When asked what makes People’s so special, Trevilion replied, “personal touch. When people walk in we know their names… We care about our customers. We know them.” According to her, all independent pharmacies have the advantage of seeing people more as human beings, whereas at a chain pharmacy, employees are often pressured to see customers in terms of numbers. “They’re not a number to us,” asserted Trevilion.

People’s Drug is located by the library on Washington St. and can be reached by phone at 601 636 5214.