"Because we'd laugh so hard, we all stayed there": Memories of Napa's Small Pharmacies
by Lauren Coodley
Recently, San Francisco columnist Carl Nolte wrote:
“I’ve always liked drugstores, a place where you can get pills, prescriptions, all kinds of stuff, creams to make you look better, shampoo, souvenirs, trinkets, toothpaste, sunglasses, shave cream, moustache wax, magazines, all the small things you never think you need.”
Once upon a time in Napa, pharmacists opened small businesses and people strolled to their local drugstores. I collected some Napa locals’ memories of these stores, most of which were in downtown Napa. Louis Ezettie was a homegrown historian. He wrote:
"Joseph A. Maggetti, who announced his retirement last week after a long and successful business career, can look back with pride to his outstanding record of community service. When he closed the doors for the last time of his drug store in the Bank of America Building at the northeast corner of Brown and Second streets, it had this historical significance. It ended approximately 100 years that a drug store had been continuously in business at that location. It marked about 43 years in all that the genial man known for his integrity, friendly manner and pleasant smile, had served the people of Napa Valley."
Liz Reyna recalls:
"Jim Maggetti was a good friend of my mother and her sister (Phyllis and Miriam King). When I was six (in 1953) I was seriously burned in a fireplace accident. I remember the Maggettis gave me a book, “God Gave Me Friends.” It began, 'God gave me friends who every day help me with my work and play.' I still have the book."
Another beloved pharmacy downtown was Miller’s. Its proprietor, Robert Wallace Miller, died in 2025. His obituary explains that he moved to Napa at a young age, where he graduated from Napa Union High School and was a 1949 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley: “He worked first at Miller's Pharmacy in downtown Napa where he partnered with Art Fontana and later as one of the first pharmacists hired by Safeway when they began putting pharmacies in their stores. In retirement, he volunteered as a pharmacist at a local clinic. Mary Campbell writes:
“I remember going to Miller's Drugstore. They had a bookrack on the outside before entering. I bought the book Peyton Place and didn't tell my mom because I heard it was naughty. We both read it. I was 17.”
Carol Blessing adds:
"I remember Miller’s had a giant scale to the left of the door when you walked in. Two friends and I were helping each other lose weight. We went to Miller's weekly for the weigh in. Sometimes we would buy something. I think the corner Maggetti’s was on was one of three drug stores, Miller's being the other, 3 out of 4 corners occupied by drug stores."
Freedman and Dora Levinson were Prussian Jews in their twenties when they were drawn to California after the discovery of gold in 1848. Arriving first in New York City, they traveled to California via the Isthmus, up to San Francisco. They settled in Napa City, where Freedman Levinson opened the Pioneer Clothing Store on Main Street. He accepted gold dust as payment for goods and kept a canary in a cage outside of the store to entice shoppers. His son, Joseph Levinson, opened Levinson’s Pharmacy on the corner of Main and First Streets, where it remained for decades.
Later, it had the only X-ray machine in the entire area. Tim Streblow recalls:
“My grandfather, Albert Frommelt, owned Levinson’s… I spent a lot of time hanging out in the store as a child.”
Scott Lund recalls:
“My Aunt Janice Hague worked at Levinson's on Main St., late 50's early 60's. She spent a lot of her check next door at the pawn shop buying pawned diamonds which she later had assembled into a spectacular flower designed ring!”
Ron Savage remembers:
"Ah Levinsons, ha ha. I bought my first ever condom there. It was back when they were kept behind the counter. The male pharmacist thought it funny to say in a really loud voice to his female assistant... 'Dorothy, this young man needs a condom, please show him our selection.' It was so embarrassing!"
Another important pharmacy was Lovejoy’s. Cathy Mathews writes:
"Lovejoy’s Pharmacy was on the corner of First and Main Streets, directly across the street from Levinson’s on the opposite corner of First and Main. It was owned by Foster Roper, who inherited it from his uncle. He employed two saleswomen, one of which was my mother and his sister-in-law, Catherine Corbett Mathews, who would become my aunt, after introducing my parents. My mother had an absentee father, and Foster assumed that role, giving my mother away at her wedding to my dad. When we stopped in at the store, Foster would always take me in the back room where he filled prescriptions and give gave me Lifesavers. I was always very impressed by the large jars of pills and various medications. When my grandmother was dying of cancer and we ran out of pain meds and other necessities in the middle of the night, my mom would call Foster and he would get out of bed to bring whatever was needed."
Joanna Thompson adds:
“My husband worked at Merrill’s in the early 70’s. We were little in the 50’s and 60’s and my family went to all of the pharmacies. Great people owned those in our little town of Napa. back then. This brings back good memories.”
Stephanie Grohs remembers Courtney’s:
“I remember riding my bike from West Park house with my best friend Betty Hendricks to shop for hair accessories and various sundry items. We once found a paycheck of one of the workers in the parking lot that fell out of her purse and returned it. The manager made a proper fuss about our honesty but no reward was offered to our disappointment.”
Nancy Brennan writes:
"Mention Mary Doud’s name in Napa and the response is ‘Oh, she was so kind to my mother,’ or ‘Isn’t she the pharmacist who gives talks about cosmetics and perfume?’ Kindness and cosmetics--neither adequately cover the character of Mary Doud."
In San Francisco, Mary Durlo took the streetcar to the Pharmacy College on Parnassus, and, in her words, “marched in with my credentials and said ‘I want to go to college. I want to be a pharmacist.’” She was the youngest in her class and one of only six women. Upon graduation, she wasn’t old enough for a license, so she got hired at I Magnin, where Elizabeth Arden singled her out for special training in perfumery. By age 21, she had worked in many pharmacies in San Francisco and soon married her first husband, Richard Pescaro. In 1951, they heard that Arighi and Ballerina Pharmacy at 949 Brown Street in Napa was for sale. Mary and Richard bought the business and moved to Napa.
Mary became the first secretary of the Napa County Pharmacy Association in 1956, then the President of Napa Solano Pharmacy Association in 1965. She founded two scholarships for a high school and a junior college student, and was named Pharmacist of the Month by the Northern California Pharmacy Association. Their installation dinners were always held at Churchill Manor. She was often photographed in historical costume for the Napa County Historical Society, while her scrapbook includes many thank-you cards for her talk about the history of perfume in 1973. Family Drug featured over 200 different fragrances! The selection of jewelry was one of Mary’s specialties, along with her interest in encouraging young people. Claudia Rota remembers:
"I worked at Family Drug Store in 1969 while in my senior year of high school. Mary Doud was very strict and demanding. One time I went to work with a miniskirt and wire-rimmed glasses. Mary freaked and made me leave work until I changed to a more 'proper' outfit and regular glasses. I made the change because I wanted to keep my job. The other women who worked there and I were aligned, and we'd have so much fun breaking Mary's rules and laughing our asses off. I'd find Marie behind the cosmetic counter lying down on the floor to rest. I laughed so hard! We weren't supposed to ever sit down while at work. If there were no customers, we had to dust the store. All of us were tired of the rules, but because we'd laugh so hard, we all stayed there."
Family Drug’s 35th anniversary, November 2, 1987, was celebrated with a dozen friends at a dinner at Riccardo’s Italian restaurant at 804 First St. Jess Doud, Mary's second husband, wrote: “Mary presently employs eleven people, and several have been with her for over ten years -- Gaylon Kastner, 27 years; Barbara Soltis, 22 years; Ruth Brandlin, 20 years; Tom Gracia has been there 12 years. It is one of only two independent pharmacies left in the city of Napa (there once were ten)... It is the combined effort of all these fine loyal people, Tom, Gaylon, Ruth, Barbara Vickie, Kay, Melodine, Gloria, Georgeann, Fred, and Martin, that has kept Family Drug alive and well.”
Tom Gracia died in 2016. Roxanne Gracia remembers:
“Tom was the main force at Family Drug. People would come in to ask about a problem. He always had a smile and would never let anything of the day upset him. He was the Hospice pharmacist for years. He'd get called in the middle of the night or during a holiday dinner and never got paid for the extra trips in to fill a prescription. Someone needed his help. Tom wrote off a lot of accounts to the underprivileged. We never received help or donations, but managed to give whatever was needed. We were very proud of the fact that we remained open during the worst recession of our time. Our employees had jobs. We filled the needs for people and animals…at one time we provided meds for exotic animals at Marine World and unique items for all kinds of pets.”
For a precious few years after Tom's death, Roxanne became the Pharmacist in Charge. “The place remained a gathering place, often reminding me of the show Friends. It was a friendly place of familiar faces.” When the property sold in 2020, the family decided to not to renew their lease. It was the end of the last independent pharmacy in Napa, a glorious history that deserves nostalgia, honor, and gratitude.
References:
Carl Nolte, San Francisco Chronicle, January 18, 2026.
Louis Ezettie, Napa Register, November 22, 1967.
Nancy Brennan, Napa County Record. July 2, 1992
All quotations from social media and emails to the author.
