After nearly three decades in the pharmacy business, The Medicine Shoppe in Litchfield will close July 17.
The closure comes with the retirement of owner and lead pharmacist David Arness.
Arness, 71, has spent 38 years of his 45-year career filling prescriptions and providing instruction for safe and effective use of medication at his pharmacy along U.S. Highway 12. While Arness will soon review his final “Rx,” Litchfield will continue to be his home.
All prescription records will transfer down the road to the pharmacy inside EconoFoods (951 E. Frontage Road).
Arness will maintain ownership of the pharmacy building, which may eventually be available to lease for commercial office space.
Tuesday will be a bittersweet day, Arness admitted, saying he looks forward to having more free time but will miss his “loyal” customers and “dedicated” employees.
Arness will be missed, too.
“You couldn’t have a better boss,” pharmacy technician Jennifer Ball said. “Most days, it doesn’t seem like a job.”
“I’ve never not wanted to come to work,” pharmacist Janet Day said. “Grateful for such a great place to come to work.”
‘SPUR-OF-THE MOMENT’ CAREER CHOICE
Arness didn’t always want to become a pharmacist. A native of the Glenwood, Minnesota area, he studied biology at Minnesota State University in Moorhead, graduating in 1968.
With American troops amid a divisive conflict in Vietnam, Arness prepared to be drafted.
“I was just waiting for that letter to come,” he said.
The inevitable recruitment for military service arrived, and after training, Arness spent 14 months as an infantryman with the U.S. Army in the jungles of Vietnam.
Upon returning home, “I decided I better do something substantial,” Arness said.
With a passion for the outdoors, Arness worked summers for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He applied for admission to the University of Minnesota, deciding to enroll in a wildlife program.
But plans changed. When he asked the dean of admissions about the job outlook for his chosen field, it wasn’t the answer he was hoping for.
“He said, ‘Ah, not that good,’” Arness recalled. “So, I thought, ‘Well, I’m at the University of Minnesota. There’s a smorgasbord of degrees you can get there,’ so that day I just walked around campus.”
His walk took him past the pharmacy building. “I thought, ‘Hmm, what about that?’”
When Arness asked the admissions dean about the outlook for careers in pharmacy, he had a better answer: “Pretty good, actually.”
“He said, ‘I only have one opening for this fall; do you want it?’ I said, ‘OK!’”
45 YEARS BEHIND THE COUNTER
Arness became a pharmacist in 1973. He worked at pharmacies in New Ulm and Willmar for a combined six years before accepting a white-jacket job in Litchfield.
When Arness’s former boss, for whom he worked during a college internship in Minneapolis, opened a Snyder Drug Store on North Sibley Avenue in Litchfield (now a Family Dollar store), he accepted an invitation to relocate once more.
Arness worked at the Litchfield Snyder Drug Store for 10 years before opening his own store.
“We decided to branch out on our own,” he said of he and wife Darlene’s decision to open a Medicine Shoppe franchise.
The Arnesses have owned The Medicine Shoppe for 28 years. They also own two adjoining commercial spaces, leased by a travel agency and an alternative health care facility, within the business complex.
‘COULDN’T ASK FOR BETTER’
The pharmacy currently employs eight staff, some full-time and some part-time.
“I give credit to our staff,” Arness said. “Couldn’t ask for better staff.”
Among The Medicine Shoppe’s former employees is now-retired pharmacist Bill Peltier. “He worked here for many years,” Arness said, noting that the business would not have been successful without assistance from fellow pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other front-desk staff.
Several high school and college students have worked at The Medicine Shoppe. “They’ve been absolutely wonderful,” Arness said.
Some employees have gone on to pursue careers as pharmacists, and several have been candidates for Miss Litchfield. “I’m proud of that,” Arness said.
When asked what he’ll miss the most, Arness simply responded, “the staff.”
Arness has witnessed “lots of changes” in the pharmacy business. Patients brought hand-written or hand-typed prescriptions to pharmacists; now they’re sent electronically. Among other significant changes: insurance reimbursements and regulations. Payments for nearly all prescription medications, he said, are processed through health insurance.
Open six days per week, the store has prided itself on offering personalized, friendly service. To Arness, quality pharmacy care has always been more than just prompt prescriptions — it means visiting with customers, getting to know them and giving their medication needs the attention it deserves.
Although he’s interacted with countless patients experiencing illness, Arness hasn’t taken a sick day in 45 years.
“The customers and the variety of customers,” Arness said, have been the greatest reward. He’s appreciated their loyalty.
Arness’s wife, Darlene, a retired teacher in Litchfield, is “the love of my life,” he said. “She’s been my wife and best friend for 45 years now.”
In retirement, Arness plans to travel and spend time at the family cabin near New London. The couple has three daughters, eight granddaughters and two grandsons. “It will give us some time to do things,” Arness said.
“It’s been a good run,” Arness said. That “spur-of-the-moment” decision: “It worked out. Litchfield’s been great for us.”
