front&center: Nancy Showalter

THREE RIVERS AREA — Nancy Showalter went away to college as a theater and drama major, but she came back a pharmacist.

As a third-generation pharmacist, Showalter, who grew up in Searcy, moved back to work at the family business after graduating from pharmacy school at Northeast Louisiana University at Monroe in 1985.

“I was going to come home for a year then go to Dallas,” Showalter said. “I wanted to go to a big city and have fun, but I decided to stay here.”

Stotts Drug Company is the oldest retail business in Searcy. Showalter’s grandfather L.O. Stotts opened the pharmacy in 1927, and it remains at its original location. It was expanded to include the retail space next door in 1968 after her parents, Virginia Stotts and Roger Williams, purchased the pharmacy; Williams was also a pharmacist. Showalter took over as manager when Williams retired four years ago.

“I wanted to carry on the tradition of the store,” Showalter said. “I grew up here, literally, and I wanted to keep it going. I thought Searcy needed it.”

Although Showalter said her parents never pushed her into becoming a pharmacist, they are happy that she did.

“I saw what pharmacy meant to my dad and how much it meant to him and how he enjoyed helping people,” she said. “I wanted to continue that.”

Williams was pleased when Showalter told him she was changing her major to pharmacy.

“I wanted one of the children to follow in my footsteps,” Williams said. “She is my right-hand man; I couldn’t exist without her. She is doing a beautiful job running the store.”

Although Williams still owns the store, Showalter runs it. Williams still comes in the store, sits and visits with the customers that he served for so many years.

Showalter’s mother grew up in Searcy, but Williams is from the neighboring town of Kensett and was a member of the last graduating pharmacy class at the College of the Ozarks before it moved to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.

The role of a pharmacist has changed over the years. A pharmacist may be much more accessible to the patient than a doctor, so Showalter believes in building a trusting relationship with her customers.

“Being a pharmacist is much more than just counting pills and pouring cough syrup and more than just being behind the counter,” Showalter said. “My customers are my friends, and they trust me and put their confidencein me. That’s important to me; they trust me with their lives.”

Considering herself a compassionate person, Showalter not only followed in her father’s footsteps by taking over the store, but she also shares his compassion and care for the customers.

“It all goes back to I love to make them feel better, and you can do that by listening,” Showalter said.

The landmark store went through a revitalization last summer, but instead of modernizing the appearance, Showalter wanted to bring it back to its original glory. The old aluminum siding was removed from the front of the store to reveal the original storefront. No one remembered the original colors, so Showalter had it painted two shades of brown with gold.

“All I have are black and white pictures, and no one remembers the original colors,” Showalter said.

She decorated with antiques instead of using what she called cold display cases. She also found an old tin Ex-lax sign that was buried behind the old siding, and the sign is now displayed inside the store.

“That sign didn’t mean anything then, but it means the world to me now,” Showalter said.

Another original feature is the old Coke box that has been in the same location for more than 50 years, with bottled Cokes nestled inside.

“People come back just to get a Coke,” Showalter said. “Tradition and memories are an important part of life.”

Not only are memories important to her customers, Showalter has her own special memories of growing up in the pharmacy. Living onlyfive blocks from the store, as a young child she would walk to the store and run down the aisle to greet her father. As Williams closed the store, he and Showalter would walk home together.

Even though Stotts clings to tradition, with all the new technology, the pharmacy is keeping up with the times. Showalter is now qualified to give immunization and vitamin shots, and the pharmacy will offer flu shots beginning next season.

Since Showalter took the reins from her father, she isn’t quite sure who will take control from her. With her oldest son, 21, a fireman in Magnolia, and a 7-year-old daughter who wants to be a cookie maker, she said she hopes there is someone there who will keep it going when she decides to hang it up. - jbrosius@ arkansasonline.commatter of

factBirthdate: February 26, 1960 Occupation: Pharmacist Family includes: Husband, Roy, and children Parker (21) and Anna Claire (7) Hobbies: Traveling, reading, knitting My name comes from: A favorite cousin of my mother’s A little known fact about me: When I graduated from high school, I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher I cannot live without: My husband and children The world would be a better place if: Everyone at some point in their lives could work for the general public. People would be more patient and tolerant with each other My favorite nostalgic memory about the pharmacy: Watching a group of older men (Vernon Duncan, Horace Tarkinginton and others), gather around the chairs each Sunday to solve the world’s problems

Three Rivers, Pages 127 on 11/15/2009

Print Headline: front&center Nancy Showalter