When Dr. P.C. Wilson sold his drug store to Kyle McClure in 1954, his brother, Bloomer Wilson, his long-time assistant in running the drug store was informed by Mr. McClure that he would not be retaining him as an employee. Bloomer was the soda fountain specialist for Wilson’s Drugs, so when faced with the need to find a new way of making a living, he opened Wilson Sundries in the vacant store immediately behind the McClure Drug Co. building just a few feet off Main Street on Middle Street.
Since McClure was downsizing and dismantling the fancy two-sided soda fountain, Bloomer took the unwanted portion of the soda fountain with its round revolving stools and the left over marble-top drug store tables and chairs that Dr. Wilson owned and set them up in his new store. Bloomer was not a registered pharmacist, so the “sundries” he had for sale were a limited selection of “over-the-counter” medicines and toiletries (toothpaste, aspirin, vitamins, shaving cream, cosmetics, etc.). A female co-worker at Wilson’s Drugs joined Bloomer in the new business and was primarily in charge of the soda fountain.
Maybe it was the fact that Bloomer never turned on the lights in the store, but as long as he was in business, you almost never saw a customer come in. The soda fountain lady seemed to just stand there watching the world go by, but it was a rare occasion for her to dip an ice cream cone for someone or even sell a fountain coke. Apparently it didn’t matter all that much to Bloomer, because he had something on the side that appeared to be enough to keep the store open and function as his professional base of operations.
Bloomer somehow managed to get himself appointed as “Rabies Inspector” for Shelby County. He traveled around the county giving injections to dogs at pre-advertised locations. Owners could bring their pets to Bloomer and he would inocluate them against Rabies, according to state law. He also injected dogs that were brought to Wilson Sundries if he happened to be there when they were brought in. Bloomer Wilson’s strange store and Rabies injection business persevered well into the 1970’s apparently until he was no longer physically able to provide his eccentric and particular type of service to residents of Shelby County and the Montevallo community.
The corner of Main and Middle Streets in downtown Montevallo has been perceived as the “center-of-town” for many years. Following World War II, the streets would be blocked off to traffic each fall so that the Montevallo High School homecoming parade could come right through town. When the parade, which always included a float carrying the Homecoming Queen and her court, got to the intersection, the Montevallo High School band would play several rousing numbers, including the school fight song, “Orange and Blue Boys.” A pep rally focused on the MHS Bulldogs’ football game that night would then ensue consisting of cheers led by the school’s cheerleaders with participation by fellow high school students who had been let our of class early in order to attend the spirited event. The rally would conclude with inspiring remarks made from the top step of the Baptist Church by the football coach. A final musical selection by the band brought the festivities to an inspiring conclusion. The band then made a left turn, en mass, onto Middle Street and marched in step to a snare drum cadence all the way back to the high school three blocks away.
The sidewalk in front of Wilson’s Drugs and later McClure Drug Co. was a favorite stumping spot for Alabama gubernatorial candidates in the 1950’s and 1960’s. When current governor “Big Jim” Folsom ran for re-election in 1954, he came to town and spoke to potential voters in front of the drug store. One of his opponents, Public Service Commission president Jack Owen from nearby Centreville, made the most memorable entrance into town during that campaign by dropping out of the sky as the passenger in a two seat “whirlybird” style helicopter. To the surprise of the crowd that had gathered to hear Owen speak, the helicopter made a pass over the downtown area and then ever-so-gingerly settled down right on Main Street in front of the drug store and the Baptist Church without hitting a single power line.
In his first run for governor in 1958, George Wallace came to Montevallo at the end of a day of campaigning from one end of Shelby County to the other. Traveling with him to warm up the crowd was Minnie Pearl of the Grand Ole Opry and a country band. Wallace spoke from the drug store corner to a curious group of potential voters. Later in the race, Wallace’s opponent and ultimate winner of the election, Attorney General John Patterson, also came to Montevallo and spoke to a good sized crowd from the same spot. Patterson presented himself throughout the campaign as a hard-core segregationist, which was key to his victory. This was a hard lesson for Wallace that prompted him to make his famous statement about future elections that he “would never be out-segged again.”
Thank you Clay Nordan, Vice President of the Montevallo Historical Society, for this information!