Early in 2007, when a new roof was being planned for Carey’s Frame Shop, it became necessary to remove all of the items from the third floor to prevent damage. The second floor had been transformed years before by dad with custom storage racks for picture frame molding, so room had to be found off-premises for everything.
In preparation for the move, my older daughter and I spent the better part of a couple of days sorting through years of dust, debris, and an assortment of period drug store-related items. But mostly it was bottles. Bottles, bottles and more bottles.
All told, I trucked twenty-five boxes of bottles to Milford, where I lived at the time. My basement became a warehouse, research lab, and over-sized wash rack. During the next three years, I cleaned and sorted, washed and scoured, rinsed and packed, and re-packed and stored bottles, often questioning the wisdom of my sentimental attachment to the hoard.
I paid a couple of visits to the State Archives and searched for information about Dr. E. C. Blackstone, the pharmacist who had owned the property in the early 1900s. Although I learned some new things about him, there was not a lot of information to be found. But, I had enough to share that I contacted a local Millsboro paper. And, in May of 2007, Michael Short from the Sussex Post came by and conducted an interview. His story appeared in the paper later that month:
You can click here and view a reader-friendly version of the newspaper article.
