Only 129 Miles to Wall Drug!
As we drove through the prairies of South Dakota we started seeing signs every few miles proclaiming “Only ___ miles to Wall Drug!” or “We’ve got it all at Wall Drug!” They boasted about all the products and services they provided at Wall Drug – everything from photofinishing to a café and a chapel. It became a game to guess how many of these signs we would see before we finally got there and as we approached the town of Wall, they became even more plentiful. Now I am a pharmacist and do hold drugstores in high regard, but even I couldn’t fathom what could possibly be so special about a simple small town pharmacy. When we turned off the interstate to drive through the Badlands, we asked the park attendant what the best route through the park was. She replied, “Oh , just take the 240 through the park and then keep going until you get to Wall Drug.” Not Wall … Wall Drug!
After our spectacular drive through the Badlands we ended up at the town of Wall. The plethora of signs had now reached the level of insanity. Every other sign had something to do with Wall Drug. Even the water tower proclaimed “Town of Wall – Home of Wall Drug.” We starting to feel like we were caught in an episode of “The Twilight Zone” as we obediently followed the signs that said “You’re almost there! Only 3 blocks to Wall Drug!” It was like there was a giant magnet pulling us there and we were locked in its grip. We were almost breathless with anticipation as we parked in their massive lot and joined the other lemmings parading toward Wall Drug.
Once inside, we started to understand the draw of the place. At first, it seemed like a simple small town gift shop and café (I couldn’t even see the dispensary), but as we explored the place we realized that it just went on and on, taking up an entire city block. It was built entirely of roughhewn lumber and had a genuine old-fashioned charm with tons of smiling employees who seemed to truly enjoy their jobs (I suspect that Wall Drug is the major employer of Wall, SD). Over the years, additional departments had been added on in a patchwork fashion until it reached it’s present state – kind of like a primitive shopping mall with a restaurant, candy store, jewellry store, camera shop, a chapel for weary travellers and a pharmacy museum (where I got to sign the visiting pharmacists register). There were framed photographs on every inch of wall space depicting the history of Wall Drug and the family who had created it, the Husteads. Apparently, Ted Hustead graduated with his pharmacy degree during the height of the Depression and ended up buying a small drugstore in Wall, SD. The town was as poor as it gets and was just a collection of dusty, ramshackle buildings in the middle of the prairies. Ted and his wife truly lived up to the motto, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!” Seeing all the tourists driving through their hot dry town on the way to the Badlands they added gifts and souvenirs to their shop. To attract tourists, Ted’s wife came up with the idea of selling the now famous “Free Icewater” and Ted made a deal with a local signbuilder to make him signs advertising their store for miles in every direction. The hype worked and Wall Drug became a tourist destination. Ever the entrepreneur, over the years Ted added many departments to the store until it became the megastore it is today. It’s even been listed as one of the top 7 stores in America by Nieman Marcus and is a regular stop on bus tours through the Badlands.
After roaming around for about half an hour, the kids discovered “Wall Drug’s Backyard” where they have a covered wagon, a twenty foot Jackalope, one of those sneaky spitting fountains like they have at Epcot and a life size animatronic T-Rex that roars very convincingly every 12 minutes. Once again, the look on Simon’s face when he heard it was unforgettable (of course, he bravely announced that he wasn’t scared afterward). We finally managed to escape from Wall Drug’s clutches after about an hour ( ½ of which was spent watching the kids try to outsmart the spitting fountain). As we left, I reflected that we had found the ultimate road trip gem – a one of a kind small town tribute to hard work, business savvy and the American dream. Someone should make a movie about this place!
To see our pictures, visit our web album.
Tags: South Dakota, Travel, Wall Drug
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