[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 148 (Wednesday, November 30, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: November 30, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      TRIBUTE TO J.D. BROWN & CO.

                                 ______


                       HON. GEORGE E. SANGMEISTER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 29, 1994

  Mr. SANGMEISTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 150th 
birthday of J.D. Brown & Co., the oldest continuous pharmacy business 
in the State of Illinois. I would also like to pay tribute to the 
memory of the illustrious gentleman who was its founder, James Douglas 
Brown.
  James Douglas Brown was 18 years old when he opened a drugstore in 
downtown Joliet in 1844, at the corner of Joliet and Jefferson Streets. 
Brown was one of Joliet's most prominent citizens, and the drugstore 
served as an informal gathering place for the city's gentlemen. Legend 
has it that after one of his lengthy debates with Abraham Lincoln in 
1858, U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas stopped in Joliet to visit his 
friend J.D. Brown, as well as to pick up some cough syrup to cure his 
laryngitis.
  Brown died in 1895 at the age of 69. By that time, the drugstore was 
already in the capable hands of his son, Horace Brown. When Horace 
died, the drugstore was inherited by his daughter, Marion, and her 
husband, Louis Schlosser. Eventually, Schlosser sold J.D. Brown & Co. 
to its present owner, Ken Pritz, a pharmacist who was working at the 
drugstore at the time. Three decades later, Pritz is very pleased that 
he can still say that J.D. Brown & Co. is a family business. His son-
in-law, David Umek, is in charge of the medical equipment and hospital 
supply end of the store. Pritz's son, James Doran Pritz, has recently 
graduated from pharmacy school and will soon begin his career as a 
pharmacist at J.D. Brown & Co.
  Naturally, the business has undergone a few changes in the last 150 
years. For example, J.D. Brown & Co. has since moved from the corner of 
Joliet and Jefferson Streets to its present Raynor Avenue location and 
the pharmacy is now computerized. Nevertheless, Pritz still keeps 
around a few reminders of the store's early beginnings. For example, 
visitors to the store can peruse J.D.'s handwritten formula books, 
which cover everything from cures for horses and cows to black and 
orange cough syrup.
  Mr. Speaker, for 150 years the people at J.D. Brown & Co. have been a 
valuable resource to the citizens of Joliet. I congratulate them on 
their outstanding service to the community and wish them 150 more years 
of success.

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