Hoskins Drugs to celebrate 95 years of service to Clinton
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Hoskins Drugs and Soda Fountain has been a Clinton tradition since it opened in 1930 in its first location at 333 Market St. This is is the current location, at 111 N. Main St.
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Hoskins Drugs and Soda Fountain at 111 N. Main St. in Clinton will hold its 95th-anniversary celebration on Friday (April 4) from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Hoskins Drugs will hold a special day-long celebration this Friday (April 4) in recognition of its 95 years of service to the Clinton community.
There will be two places for the day’s events: the current Hoskins Drugs and Soda Fountain at 111 N. Main St., and the original Hoskins Drugs location, at 333 Market St., which is now a gift shop known as Hoskins in the Flat.
Both businesses remain in the Hoskins family. The current owners are Dudley Hoskins Bostic and Mollie Hoskins Scarbrough, the daughters of founder Roland Carvel Hoskins and Katherine Jenkins Hoskins.
The celebration will begin with a Chamber of Commerce coffee at 8:30 a.m. Friday at the current Hoskins Drugs location, followed by presentation of a resolution from the Tennessee General Assembly at 9:30 a.m.
From 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., there will be soda fountain specials, along with recognition of former staff and family.
From 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., visitors can get a free ice cream cone from the fountain. The celebration continues in the store until closing time at 6 p.m.
Meanwhile a second celebration will be held from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Hoskins in the Flat, where finger foods will be served.
Besides the drugstore on North Main Street, Hoskins also operates an adjacent medical-supply store.
According to the history of Hoskins Drugs posted on the company website (hoskinsdrugstoreandsodafountain.com):
“Roland Carvel (R.C.) Hoskins had a dream of opening a drug store in the town of Clinton. In April of 1930, his dream became reality with the purchase of an existing drug store on Market Street. It was the first of 13 stores started by RC Hoskins and became a full service soda fountain, pharmacy, and beauty shop. The sign placed outside the building read ‘Hoskins Drugs,’ and was lit brightly with neon lights and painted blue and white.
“At dusk, the sign was lit up and was not turned off until Mr. Hoskins stepped outside and looked up and down the sidewalk to make sure no one was coming his way. There were days that it would stay on till 11:00 p.m. This location is now the home of ‘Hoskins in the Flat,’ and still owned and operated by the Hoskins family.
“‘The drug store of tomorrow’ was the headline of the June 12, 1947, Clinton Courier newspaper. RC Hoskins was opening his second drug store location in the town of Clinton. Being one of the first Rexall Drug Stores and ‘super stores,’ it was breaking into an industry that hadn’t seen such innovation before.”
That was the current location, which still operates mostly unchanged today.
The website notes, “The original wooden, high-backed booths and even the original wooden crown molding is still in place, along with the authentic soda fountain still serving daily blue plate specials and ice cream favorites.”
Dudley Hoskins Bostic manages the drugstore, including the soda fountain area, and Mollie Hoskins Scarbough is the lead pharmacist.
