Interview with George Grider, May 2, 1979

Interview Summary

George Grider is a pharmacist in Danville, Kentucky. He graduated from the Louisville College of Pharmacy in 1940, which is now the College of Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky. He was born in Albany, Kentucky in 1914. In 1920, the family moved to Monticello, Kentucky, where he attended Monticello Grade School and graduated from Monticello High School in 1932. He recalls the fire in 1928 that burned down both the Monticello Drug Company and the Ramsey Hotel. Grider later worked in the Monticello Drug Store, and credits this experience with his choice of career. He attended Morehead State Teacher's College, now Morehead State University, on a state scholarship program, and worked at the drugstore in Morehead while in school.

Grider recalls his decision to become a pharmacist. He worked for Mr. Kranz, who was on Board of Trustees at the College of Pharmacy for several months. He describes his experiences while attending pharmacy school during the Louisville Flood of 1937. He talks at length about Dean Earl P. Sloan. After graduation, Grider worked at pharmacies in Richmond and Danville, Kentucky. He applied for the Navy Medical Corps in Louisville, Kentucky, but was commissioned as a deck officer in 1942. He talks at length about his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II, and said they were invaluable in teaching him how to get along with people. He opened his own pharmacy in Danville after the war. He discusses the Kentucky Board of Pharmacies, on which he served from 1957 to 1959.

Grider discusses at length the history of the Ephraim McDowell House and the restoration of the building, with assistance from the Kentucky Pharmaceutical Association and Eli Lily. He mentions George Griffenhagen, a pharmaceutical historian from the Smithsonian, who convinced Sydney Blumberg to contribute his collection of antique apothecary ware, which was later purchased to help restore the Apothecary Shop at McDowell House. In 1959, Grider was admitted to the State Board of Pharmacy. Grider eventually became President of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy (AIHP).

Interview LC Subject

Grider, George, 1914- Grider, George, 1914- --Interviews University of Kentucky University of Kentucky--History

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