Drug stores in earlier days were much more of a social outlet than they are today. Now we have the internet, 24-hour streaming news and social media that make virtual interactions far more common than in-person contact. Let’s take a look at Ward’s Drug Store, the one-time popular store in the Pleasantdale neighborhood of South Portland, where you could hang out at the soda fountain, pick up a sundry item, or just chat with your neighbor or store owner.

A 1935 image of the block at 864-870 Broadway. The Broadway Barber Shop is in the house on the left. The large three-story building had apartments upstairs and, on the ground floor, the A&P grocery store was in the left storefront and Ward’s Drug Store was on the right. When the grocery store later closed, Ward’s Drug expanded into the space. South Portland Historical Society photo

The founder of Ward’s Drug Store, Clifford Ward, was born in 1892 in Westbrook and lived there throughout his childhood. He attended Columbia University, graduating from its pharmaceutical school.

In 1917, at the age of 25, he was working as a pharmacist at the Liggett’s Riker-Jaynes Drug Store at 513 Congress St. in Portland. He married Frances King on June 19, 1918, and enlisted in the Army just eight days later. He served at an Army base hospital for a year and was honorably discharged in June, 1919.

Around 1920, he was working as a drug clerk at William P. Keenan’s drug store in Portland when he decided that he wanted to go into business for himself. In June, 1921, Ward purchased the existing home at 310 Summer St. (the address would later become known as 870 Broadway), which at that time sat right on the corner of Elm Street. The first floor of the home had been used as an A&P store, but the A&P closed and Cliff opened his business in that space on the first floor. He and Frances moved into the apartment upstairs.

In July, 1921, he took over the operation of the local post office, Sub-station No. 11, that moved into the drug store from its previous location at Whitehall, a few doors down.

In 1922, Ward purchased the vacant lot just beside his building, on its east side. He had the home lifted and moved down to that lot. On the now-vacant lot on the corner of Broadway and Elm Street, he had the large, three-story apartment building constructed, with the original home attached to the left side of the building. The new building had great income potential, with apartments to rent on the top two floors, and retail space on the first floor.

Cliff and his wife Frances moved into one of the upstairs apartments, and he moved his Ward’s Drug Store into the new building on the corner.

Clifford E. Ward, pharmacist and owner of Ward’s Drug Store. South Portland Historical Society photo

Within a few years, he had a great tenant for the left storefront, one that complemented his pharmacy on the right – a grocery store. The first grocery was a Blue Bird Store, circa 1926-1928, then an A&P store took over the space.

The additional tenant undoubtedly helped Cliff survive the Depression years. In 1932, Millard Emery took over as the store manager of the A&P and, after that store closed around 1941, Emery rented the space himself and reopened as a Red & White grocery. About a year later, Emery closed his store and joined the Navy.

Wally Demmons was next to lease the space and reopened the grocery. Around 1947, Demmons moved his grocery across the street and Cliff Ward expanded his drug store into the other storefront, so that Ward’s Drug now occupied the entire first floor.

In the larger store, the checkout counter with cash register was at the front right corner. On the left side of the store, at the back, there was a lunch counter where customers could sit and have a cup of coffee and a doughnut. The drug store sold all types of items, like candy, health products, bath and beauty products, and even some general household goods.

In my book, “South Portland: A Nostalgic Look at Our Neighborhood Stores,” I included a lovely memory from Cathy Counts about Ward’s Drug.

Cathy, who grew up in the neighborhood, had this to say: “I remember going into the Rexall Pharmacy there when I was a little girl in the 1950s, and it was old then, with sagging, rolling, but highly polished dark wooden floors and elaborate molding on the columns, and high, ornate tin ceilings. I sat at the lunch counter and twirled on the seat while the proprietor heated my Heinz 57 Tomato Soup and grilled my cheese sandwich and topped off my lemon blend, for $1.10, every school day. Meanwhile the school teachers, also on their lunch breaks, smoked cigarettes, laughed and ate sandwiches a little ways down the long counter from where I whirled back and forth, the toes of my patent leather shoes scuffing a trail along the wooden paneling under the counter as I breezed by. Of course, we all wore dresses then, and the teachers all had their hair ‘done.’ My mother worked as a nurse, unlike all the other mothers in the neighborhood, who were home for their children at lunchtime. I felt quite worldly, the one child on her own at lunch, not Mothered.”

A prescription pill box from Ward’s Drug Store. South Portland Historical Society image

Throughout his life, Cliff Ward was an active member of the community. He and Frances were members of the Elm Street Methodist Church. He was also a member of the Masons and was very active in the South Portland Kiwanis Club, at one point serving as its president. Cliff died in 1953 and is buried with Frances at Brooklawn Memorial Park.

One of Cliff Ward’s longtime employees was pharmacist Carl Graffam. Graffam was born in South Portland in 1907 and graduated from South Portland High School. He attended the Massachusetts School of Pharmacology; he passed the state licensing exam and received his pharmacist license in 1934. In 1935, he married Velma Jacobs and they had one daughter. Carl was a tall and athletic man; when he was a young man, he played semi-pro baseball in the Portland Twilight League.

When Cliff Ward died in 1953, Carl Graffam had already been working there many years, so it was a natural transition for him to take over the business and continue operating it. Ward’s Drug, also called Ward’s Pharmacy, had already used the name Broadway Pharmacy while Cliff was alive. When Carl took over the store, he called it Broadway Pharmacy. Frances Ward sold the building to Graffam in 1958.

Carl and Velma Graffam on their wedding day in 1935. South Portland Historical Society photo

A local resident, the late Pete Taylor, wrote extensively of his memories of living in Pleasantdale through the years. He wrote this about Ward’s Drug Store: “Wards was a very popular gathering place and kept one or two people busy, just with the soda fountain. Ice cream sodas were 15 cents – banana splits 25 cents. Cliff Ward and his wife were well-known and liked. Carl Graffam, one of the pharmacists, bought the store when Cliff died and operated it for many years. His wife Velma, and daughter Barbara, worked with him in the store, and they lived in one of the apartments over the store.”

Broadway Pharmacy continued in operation until about 1968 when Carl Graffam retired and sold the building.

I grew up just a few doors down from the building. The corner store was operated by Louis and Athena Germaine in the 1970s and early 1980s, as L & A Variety. If you have photos of Ward’s Drug Store, or of the store with the L & A Variety sign, we would love to hear from you.

South Portland Historical Society offers a free Online Museum with over 16,000 images available for viewing with a keyword search. You can find it at https://sphistory.pastperfectonline.com and, if you appreciate what we do, feel free to make a donation by using the donation button on the home page. If you have photographs or other information to share about South Portland’s past, we would love to hear from you. South Portland Historical Society can be reached at 207-767-7299, by email at sphistory04106@gmail.com, or by mail at 55 Bug Light Park, South Portland, ME 04106.

Kathryn Onos DiPhilippo is executive director for the South Portland Historical Society. She can be reached at sphistory04106@gmail.com.