By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — It’s impossible to walk in downtown Ruston and miss the Waltz Pharmacy at the intersection of North Trenton St. and West Mississippi Ave.
Nestled in the corner by the red light, the bright white sign has welcomed countless patients for nearly 53 years into Waltz’s care for needed medications, apothecaries, knick-knacks and of course, cold Coca Cola’s.
And now, Phil Waltz will finally go into retirement today after years and years of service to the city and community he loves dearly.
A 1965 graduate from Ruston High School, Waltz spent two years at Louisiana Tech and finished pharmaceutical school at Northeast Louisiana State College (now UL-Monroe) in 1970 — then had to wait until he was 21 years old to take the state board test. Waltz then served as a pharmacist first at Lincoln General Hospital Pharmacy and Baton Rouge General Hospital Pharmacy before opening the well-known institution that was Waltz & Brazell Pharmacy for years.
“My first goal coming out of school was to take care of folks, no matter where I was,” Waltz said. “I wanted to take care of the folks that wanted to come here and do that in the best way that I could.”
And take care of folks, he did, from the moment his pharmacy first opened on May 1, 1972, all the way through today’s closing time. Waltz added that his favorite part was enjoying the friendships with his customers along the way.
Retired Lincoln/Union Parish Judge and Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Joe Bleich was one of those friends. Carrying a box of a dozen donuts for an anticipated visit, Bleich had come Tuesday morning to visit Waltz before finding out that Wednesday would be the last day of business for the pharmacy.
“Institutions (like Waltz’s Pharmacy) perform so much public service, and we hate to see them close or fade away,” Bleich said. “What he has done, he and his family and his staff, will be forever remembered. Although Phil had a profession, he never looked at it as work. He truly loved serving and assisting everyone who crossed his threshold. To that extent, he was indeed the icon of being a public servant.”
Prior to housing Waltz Pharmacy, 200 North Trenton St. served as the home for Crosby’s Pharmacy and then Beard’s Pharmacy, from whom Waltz purchased the business in 1972. And in the late 80’s, Waltz partnered with Albert Brazzel for nearly a decade and operated as Waltz & Brazzel Pharmacy, Inc., which is still reflected on the sign hanging above the building.
“Waltz Pharmacy has been a fixture in Downtown Ruston for generations,” City of Ruston Main Street Director and Community Coordinator Amy Stegall said. “I still remember dropping by for a bottle of Coke before heading to my job at Grigsby’s Jewelers during college.
“It’s rare to find a place that truly feels like stepping back in time, but Waltz was one of those special spots. We are deeply grateful for the many years they’ve been part of the heart of Downtown Ruston, and we wish them all the best in their well-earned retirement.”
April Brazzel Winstead, Albert’s daughter, said she practically grew up in the pharmacy with her father and the Waltz family. In fact, Winstead had helped with billing from the time she was in high school up until last year.
“My dad actually had a pharmacy across the street from Waltz’s Pharmacy for years,” Winstead said. “When some of the big chains started coming to Ruston, they decided to combine and decrease overhead costs, because the chains were starting to really get those ‘Mom & Pop’ stores.”
Winstead added that she has a lot of memories from decades in the pharmacy and wishes Waltz the best in retirement.
“I raised my babies in that pharmacy — they would go to work with me,” Winstead said. “He’s always treated me like family, and I think of them as family. I know it’s bittersweet for him, but I really hope that he enjoys some time. He and his wife Donna have helped so many people in so many ways that the public will never know — whether it was monetarily or getting up in the middle of the night and going to the pharmacy to fill a prescription. I can’t even name it all.
“I wish them all the best, and I just can’t say enough about what he’s done.”
After the pharmacy closes today, Waltz said that he’ll still be cleaning out the store through the end of the calendar year. Since Waltz will still have the lease on the building for another year, he said he is not sure what will come after he has finished cleaning the store out.
“(Cleaning) is going to take me about four months, at least,” Waltz said. “Once I lock that door, I’ll have some paperwork I’ll need to shred, and there is some I’ll have to keep for 10 years. I’ll be 87 years old when I get through all of this paperwork. I’ll take the shelving down and move everything out, but I’ve got a year to get it empty. But I’m hoping to do it in four or five months.”
Customers with current prescriptions at Waltz’s Pharmacy will now have their scripts sent to Walgreens on 108 West California Ave. in Ruston. Once in Walgreens’ system, customers can call to have their scripts transferred to any pharmacy of their choosing.
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