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Long time lighthouse enthusiast Dean Warner, owner of Umpqua Drugs in Umpqua, Oregon, has retired and has closed his drug store.
The closure of the store, with its wide array of lighthouse gifts and collectibles, leaves a void in the Pacific Coast lighthouse community.
For a number of years, Warner, now 73, operated the Lighthouse Gallery, a lighthouse gift shop in the basement of the Umpqua River Lighthouse, until the local county board of commissioners declined to renew his lease, opting instead to operate their own gift shop. So, Warner packed up the gift shop merchandise and started selling lighthouse gifts in his drug store.
Warner said he had tried to sell the drug store but was unable to find a buyer. He said his only alternative was to go out of business. Umpqua Drugs has been in business since the 1930s, and although it moved a few times, it has been a fixture of the community. Warner said that most pharmacists now prefer to work for one of the big chain stores rather than put up with all the headaches associated with owning their own store. But, Warner said, he had most of his fun selling lighthouse items, something that was near and dear to his heart.
This story appeared in the
August 2010 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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