Rogers Drug Company

History (As We Know It)

Samuel Sylvester Cobb opened Wagoner’s first drug store in 1890 on the northeast corner of Main and Cherokee. The new pharmacy was called S.S. Cobb & Co. Drugs and it also operated as the town’s post office. The original building was a simple small framed structure and he quickly outgrew it. In 1895, he moved the business into his own brand-new building that he had built in the same location. The Crew Brothers (unsure if they were pharmacists) bought the pharmacy from S.S. Cobb. We believe they kept the pharmacy in the Cobb building until Charles Rogers purchased it from them. It is thought that while the Crew Brothers owned the pharmacy, the name could have been changed to Loeser’s Drug Store which can be seen in many local vintage pictures. In other photos of the time, “J.L. Beardsley Druggist” can also be seen displayed on the side of the store.

Pharmacist Charles Franklin Rogers Sr., who worked for the Crew brothers at their Hulbert, OK pharmacy, was offered the chance to purchase the store. Rogers stated that he would rather own their Wagoner, OK location. Deals were made, the dates are vague, but Rogers ended up with both locations. Rogers left Hulbert in 1927 to run what became Rogers Drug Company. His brother James (Jimmie) V. Rogers remained to run the Hulbert store. Unfortunately, the Hulbert location was lost due to fire.

In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, appointed Charles F. Rogers as Postmaster. The certificate bearing the president’s signature can still be seen at Rogers Drug. The business was rolling along and Rogers hired Walter Harvey. Harvey ran the front of the store, from 1930 to 1939, while Charles served as the pharmacist and postmaster. Harvey went on to become a Rexall sales representative. Rogers Drug also had at least two red- letter pharmacists, “Mac” McCuley and Homer Blake. They even had an assistant pharmacist, Verna Mae Mitchell, another long-time employee. An assistant pharmacist is a little-known title/designation in Oklahoma. The state board quickly eliminated this type of licensure. The assistant pharmacist could work alone if the actual pharmacist was on site for at least 28 hours a week.

Ronald Nicholas graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in 1964 and quickly began working for Rogers Drug. In 1972, Mr. Rogers suffered a fatal heart attack and Nicholas bought the store. During his time at the pharmacy, Mr. Rogers accumulated many Wagoner artifacts. The Wagoner Mercantile Company’s cash register, a 1913 National 4 drawer, was purchased by Mr. Rogers following the crash of 1929. Ronald Nicholas used it as the only register for the business until 2010. It can still be seen in the store today. In 1936, Mr. Rogers had a marble-topped soda fountain installed. It was a favorite of many, but it was always breaking down according to Nicholas. “L.A. Moore was the only person who could work on it and when he got sick, we had no one to fix it.”, said Nicholas. The fountain was eventually sold to a Tulsa resident and was included in their home.

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