By Nila Harris
When I was a youngster in Falmouth, I remember walking to Moreland Drugs at the corner of Shelby and Main Streets. It was a treat sitting at the soda fountain, eating an ice cream.
The pharmacy was in the back, and there were aisles filled with different products that you would typically see at a drug store. But how did it start?
According to Ron Moreland, the building was built in 1895. A man named OB Gayle had a drug store in the back portion of the store. Mr. Gayle ran the drug store until around 1943-44.
Tom Moreland (Ron’s uncle) bought the store in 1945 and ran the store 19 years. During part of this time, OT Gillespie worked for Tom at the ripe ole age of thirteen.
Moreland would work young people and make them put half of their pay into a savings account, often walking them across the street to the bank. He also helped many young people pay for college.
In the late 50’s, Ron Moreland was attending Eastern College. College. He came home after his freshman year and was working in the tobacco field with his dad when his Uncle Tom approached him with a proposition.
The Senior Moreland wanted Ron to go to Pharmacy school.
“I can’t even SPELL Chemistry,” the younger Moreland claimed.
But Tom was persistent and even offered to pay for his schooling, so Ron agreed.
It was a challenging endeavor, but Ron completed his undergraduate studies at Eastern, then attended Pharmacy School at the University of Ky. Upon graduation, Ron went into the Army and worked as the only pharmacist and was on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Once he got out of the service, he worked at several different pharmacies, including the Bourbon County Hospital.
Around 1965, Ron’s uncle approached him and Gillespie about buying the store. Neither young man had planned to purchase the store, so they did not have money for this endeavor. Once again, Tom Moreland came through, saying that he would incorporate it, and when they had the money, they could buy shares. This is what they did, and Ron Moreland and OT Gillespie entered into a partnership that lasted for 29 years.
