In 1945 R. V. Daniels, a pharmacist, purchased the Reynolds Building at the
intersection of Bannock Street and North Main Street. The R.V. Daniels Drug
Store began as a three-story brick building with a basement, a main floor that
served as the store, and an upstairs that had apartments.
The store had a small pharmacy and a soda fountain and sold essentials like
first aid supplies, over-the-counter medicines, cosmetics, magazines, and some
veterinary supplies. The soda fountain was a gathering place for friends and
employees from other stores until it was removed in 1960 when the store was
remodeled.
Two clerks worked split shifts, and an extra girl came after school to work
until closing, which was 10:00 p.m. on weekdays and 11:00 p.m. on Saturdays and
Sundays.
R. V. Daniels was the creator of several pharmaceutical products, the most
famous of which is Daniels Croup Ointment, which is still sold by prescription at
the drug store today.
As a licensed pilot, R. V. Daniels gave many people in Malad Valley their
first airplane ride in his small plane. Until the drug store was remodeled in 1960,
the south wall of the store was covered by a huge aeronautical map of the region.
In January 1947, Verlin Allen and his family moved to Malad, and Verlin
began working for R.V. Daniels, who had told Verlin that he could buy the store
from him when he retired. In 1957 R.V. Daniels retired, and brothers Verlin and
Ken Allen purchased the store and the building. The Allens created a shooting
gallery in the basement where the bullets went into the coal crib behind the targets.
The earthquake in 1975 severely damaged the old building. In 1976 the new
Allen Drug Store was built at 4 North Main, only a few feet north of the old store.
It is one level and seemed very spacious, compared with the old building. The new
store opened for business just before Thanksgiving in 1976.
In the spring of 1977, the old drug store was dismantled and dropped down
into the basement. The ground was packed down and leveled off, and a parking lot
was put in its place. What was once a junk-filled back lot was replaced with an
asphalt parking lot that allows front and back entrances to the store.
Sources:
Craig Allen, son of Verlin Allen.
Lilly Hess, former employee of Allen Drug, story for The Idaho Enterprise.