Griffis Drug Store: Three Generations 1874-1971
The Griffis
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The GriffisGriffis Drug Store - the early 1900sGriffis Drug Store 1939Memories of Griffis Drug Store snack bar during a 1959 snow stormBill Griffis: A (Soda) Fountain of Memory by Bob OwensPharmacologyTools of the TradeAdvertisingGriffis summer home, Loughbreeze, Victoria BeachDowney PharmacyLinks
Museum of Health Care at Kingston, Pharmacy collectionPharmacy history in Canada, Canadian EncyclopediaPotions, Pills, and Prescriptions - Museum of Health Care at KingstonMedicine Hunters - The Healing Power of Plants - Virtual Museum exhibit
1904 portrait photograph of E.G. Griffis, druggist, Cramahe Township Details
The Griffis family ran the Griffis Drug Store in Colborne for 96 years. Three generations of sons oversaw the pharmacy - William Church Griffis (1852-1906), Frank Griffis (1880-?), and Bill Griffis (1915-2010). William Church Griffis opened his apothecary hall in 1874 near the corner of King and Percy streets. The photo detail above of E.G. Griffis was cropped from 1904 group portrait photograph of Colborne businessmen. E.G. Griffis seems to have played a prominent role in the drug store given his inclusion in the photograph. He may have been a brother to William.
Photograph of Frank Griffis and an unidentified man standing in front of W. F. Griffis Drug Store, King Street East, Colborne Details
William C. Griffis died in 1906 but his son, Frank ran the pharmacy operations until he retired in 1945. In 1910 Frank Griffis aligned the pharmacy with Rexall, a new retail pharmacy outfit that began in 1904. At that time the Griffis Rexall was the third Rexall company established in Canada.
Portrait of Jack Armstrong (left), Bill Griffis (right) and another young man (centre) in front of Colborne High School Details
Bill Griffis took over from his father, Frank, in 1945 and worked at the pharmacy for 26 years until he retired in 1971. The pharmacy was then renamed the Downey Guardian Pharmacy and remains a fixture in Colborne today.
5 Nov 71 Cobourg Star Sentinel, Colborne, Cramahe Township Details
Photograph of Bert Downey, Downey Pharmacy Guardian, Colborne, Cramahe Township Details
