serving customers on Main Street since 1924

By Don Napier

Serving customers on Main Street for 84 consecutive years, Mitchell’s Drug Store is without a doubt, the oldest business in town, and a mainstay for the traditions that hometown businesses were known for in small towns all over this country.

n a day when businesses move out of downtown, seeking the glitzier big box stores and shopping centers, Mitchell Drug Store has been in the same location since 1939 and in continuous business since 1924.

You can find one of these big box pharmacies inside grocery stores, Walmarts and other giant merchandisers, and you can get your prescription filled. But the personal service is a lost art. You will feel like a number waiting to be called.

I always feel a little pride when the doctor asks which pharmacy I use. I proudly say “Mitchell’s.” These are my friends. When I need assistance or have a question about some over the counter medicine that I am looking for, I can expect the Mitchell’s staff to help me and if they cannot find what I am looking for, they will order it.

Mitchell’s has not changed that much since 1939. The fountain is there and the pharmacists are on a first-name basis with most of their customer base. People trust Mitchell’s.

Joe Mitchell came to Cumberland County in 1924, making the 50-mile trip from Livingston, and buying half interest in Jackson Drug. The Mitchell-Jackson Drug Store was located a block to the north of their present location, in the building that now houses French’s shows. There was a shoe store and barbershop in the building as well.

Joe bought out his partner in 1926, and 13 years later moved to a vacant lot down the street and built his own building. In 1938, with his family still feeling the pain of the depression, Bob Mitchell’s parents sent him to live with his uncle Joe in Crossville. Joe and his wife had no children, as their twin sons had died in infancy.

Joe never adopted Bob, but for all general purposes, they lived their lives like father and son. Bob’s uncle Joe, opened his new Mitchell’s Drug Company in 1939. The two story building had a group of doctors upstairs and the drug store downstairs. Today, a portion of the upstairs has been remodeled into apartments and three offices downstairs are rented to local businesses.

Bob Mitchell was educated in Cumberland County, then attended Tennessee Military Institute for two years. After earning his pre-pharmacy degree at Tennessee Wesleyan in Athens, he attended UT Pharmacy School in Memphis. He came back to Crossville in 1952, single, but not for long.

An acquaintance introduced him to Mary Lou Gates, a school teacher from Celina, Tennessee. Pretty soon, Mary Lou was teaching at Pleasant Hill after she and Bob were married. Bob eventually replaced his uncle Joe, and became the “Mitchell” at Mitchell’s Drug Company. Today, he takes a lot of pride in being the only original business still in operation on Main Street. His address is 97 North Main.

These days, Bob’s son-in-law Jim Petty and Nancy Owens are the primary pharmacists. Bob still comes into the store every day, but most of his time is spent out front talking to the customers and holding down the number one table in the Liar’s Club.

Mitchell’s continues to make daily deliveries, something that long ago was pushed to the wayside at most drug stores.

His original ice cream fountain cranks out the best hand-dipped Mayfield ice cream and milkshakes you ever wrapped your lips around. Regular fountain Lady Jewel Payne has handled those duties for nearly fifty years. You can also get a little snack or sandwich there if eating is on your mind.

Every time needs a place like Mitchell’s, but few have anything like this. Honestly, its like going back into the 1950’s. The store has not changed since then, His three-table lobby is filled to capacity nearly every morning and afternoon, as the “liars” come in for their morning dose of coffee and conversation. Homespun humor, local history, sports, political chatter and little bit of good-natured ribbing goes on almost every day. The activity picks up around the holidays and people have more time on their hands.

Every small town needs a place like Mitchell’s, but few have one. I think that makes us special. If you don’t have a regular place you get your prescriptions filled, and you want to develop a relationship with a friendly staff who sincerely cares about your health and welfare, you should come on downtown to Mitchell’s. You can get flu shots and have your blood pressure checked, etc., but my favorite reason for using Mitchell’s as my pharmacy all these years, is because we are friends and we know each other. There is just a feeling of trust there that you can’t get elsewhere.

They are sure to be there when you need them too. They have been since 1924.
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Employees
Pharmacists who once worked for Bob are: Tom Pemberton, Red Storie, Joe Mitchell, Nick Owens and Jackie Potter. Fountain worker Thelma “Pete” Brown ran the ice cream fountain for the better part of fifty years. Other fountain staffers were Mack Johnson, Arlis Breeding, Mike Barnes and Scott Harris.

Today’s current staff at Mitchell’s include Pam Bilyeu, Peggy Evans, Barbara Underwood, Tess Gilbert, and C.J. Winning ham.