On Sept. 21, 1955, a business in Vermilion celebrated five decades of service to the community. It was Long’s Drug Store, which had opened on Sept. 21, 1905. That was in the very early years of Vermilion’s history.
Naturally, with the business celebrating such an amazing milestone, it was a big celebration for the community.
The first Long’s Drug Store was in a two-storey building that had a hall above the store where many early town meetings were held.
Fred Long was from Oron, Ontario and had graduated with a pharmacy degree in 1902. He went to Cranbrook in 1903 to manage a drug store and it was there that he met G. Hayward. The two men decided to form a partnership and started looking for places to open a pharmacy.
While on a train from Calgary to Edmonton, they met Judd Brimacombe, who introduced them to G. Brimacombe. He was the postmaster of the Vermilion area and he gave the area a glowing review.
With that, they men decided to move to the Vermilion area to Breage.
With a covered wagon and a team of oxen, the men purchased hardware and drugs. They then began to travel east with what would begin their business in Breage.
Upon reaching Breage, they opened their business but in September 1905 they were told that the community of Vermilion would be the divisional point. They decided to move their business to the new community.
Their original store carried a stock of lumber and drugs, but due to the fact they covered such a wide assortment of goods, the partnership dissolved in 1907. Hayward opened a lumber yard and Long opened a new drug store.
Long quickly became a fixture in the community. He sat on town council and on school boards. He also served overseas during the First World War. During that time, Bruce MacDonald and Ed Long operated his business.
Sadly on April 11, 1918, the building burned to the ground.
Fred Long returned from the war and continued to operate his store until his retirement in 1939. At that point, he moved to Edmonton and then to Vancouver. He remained in Calgary until his death in 1949.
When Fred Long retired, his son, Carmen Long, came along to take over the business as he had recently graduated from the pharmacy program from the University of Alberta.
Carmen was the man in charge when the business hit its 50th anniversary.
And today, the business continues to operate as Long’s Value Drug Mart, 119 years after it was first founded in the very young community of Vermilion.
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