History
Article from the Granby Drummer July/August 2001 by Fred Wilhelm.
When Carl Kevorkian and his wife Florence opened the Granby Pharmacy on January 29, 1949, they were taking a big chance but providing a great service to the 3,000 residents of Granby at that time. Before locating in Granby Carl spoke with Helen Clark, the town clerk. She thought that the number of patrons would be increased by drawing from neighboring towns but urged him to speak with Mr. Loomis. James Lee Loomis, President of Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co. and a resident of Granby, whose family had run Loomis Brothers General Store, also urged Carl to locate in Granby.
When Carl opened the pharmacy, he was 24 years old and recently married. I thought to myself today many young men and women of that age are busy with what they call "finding themselves". Perhaps the depression years and World War II had given young people the opportunity to find themselves more quickly. Carl grew up in the Frog Hollow section of Hartford, had a newspaper route for the Hartford Times, and graduated from Hartford High School. The draft interrupted his studies at the UConn College of Pharmacy. Because of his training in pharmacy, Carl was assigned to the Medical Corps and spent three years with a MASH unit in Europe. After his discharge, he returned to college and completed the requirements for a degree in pharmacy from UConn.
The first years at the Granby Pharmacy were not easy. Carl and Florence rented an apartment in the building that was formerly Dr. Pendleton's hospital. Florence continued to work at the Veterans Administration in Hartford, as she says "to help make ends meet", and evenings worked at the pharmacy. At that time the Granby Pharmacy rented space in the building where Coldwel Bankers is now located. Carl's brother John had a pharmacy in Simsbury, and eventually they were running five pharmacies. With Carl spending time at all five stores, that proved to be too large an undertaking and they dropped back to the Granby and Simsbury stores only.
In spite of the long hours spent at the pharmacy, Carl found time to serve with the Granby Ambulance Association, to become Commander of the Shannon-Shattuck Post of the American Legion, and to officiate as Parade Marshall for the Memorial Day parade for two or three years.
When Carl Kevorkian and his wife Florence opened the Granby Pharmacy on January 29, 1949, they were taking a big chance but providing a great service to the 3,000 residents of Granby at that time. Before locating in Granby Carl spoke with Helen Clark, the town clerk. She thought that the number of patrons would be increased by drawing from neighboring towns but urged him to speak with Mr. Loomis. James Lee Loomis, President of Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co. and a resident of Granby, whose family had run Loomis Brothers General Store, also urged Carl to locate in Granby.
When Carl opened the pharmacy, he was 24 years old and recently married. I thought to myself today many young men and women of that age are busy with what they call "finding themselves". Perhaps the depression years and World War II had given young people the opportunity to find themselves more quickly. Carl grew up in the Frog Hollow section of Hartford, had a newspaper route for the Hartford Times, and graduated from Hartford High School. The draft interrupted his studies at the UConn College of Pharmacy. Because of his training in pharmacy, Carl was assigned to the Medical Corps and spent three years with a MASH unit in Europe. After his discharge, he returned to college and completed the requirements for a degree in pharmacy from UConn.
The first years at the Granby Pharmacy were not easy. Carl and Florence rented an apartment in the building that was formerly Dr. Pendleton's hospital. Florence continued to work at the Veterans Administration in Hartford, as she says "to help make ends meet", and evenings worked at the pharmacy. At that time the Granby Pharmacy rented space in the building where Coldwel Bankers is now located. Carl's brother John had a pharmacy in Simsbury, and eventually they were running five pharmacies. With Carl spending time at all five stores, that proved to be too large an undertaking and they dropped back to the Granby and Simsbury stores only.
In spite of the long hours spent at the pharmacy, Carl found time to serve with the Granby Ambulance Association, to become Commander of the Shannon-Shattuck Post of the American Legion, and to officiate as Parade Marshall for the Memorial Day parade for two or three years.
Original location of the Granby Pharmacy
