Wonderful Memories of Dennis & Akers Drug Store in Owensboro, KY

When I was high school, my friend Jeanette Word worked at Dennis & Akers on Highway 60 next to Wyndall's. The Dennis & Akers Drug Store had several locations here in town and each had an ice cream and lunch counter, a sort of "old school" soda fountain. That's where Jeanette worked.

Jeanette got the job through her cousin's grandmother and she loved it. Her cousin Julie and I used to go visit her to chat, get some ice cream or a milkshake and hang out while Jeanette worked. And, make no mistake, Dennis & Akers was indeed a hangout.

The lunch counter at Dennis & Akers was, for a lot of people here in Owensboro, THE place to grab a bite to eat. Jeanette recalls that people LOVED the Dennis & Akers chili and burgers. In fact, she vividly remembers some customers came in every day "for multiple meals."

She says, "I liked getting to the know the customers. Many were retired and coming to Dennis & Akers was just part of their daily routine."

My friend Jim Parr worked there too. He worked at the 20th and Triplett Street location when he was in high school.  Jim agrees with Jeanette. He says, "I have lots of good memories of Dennis & Akers." He has some great mementos from his time there too- like this Dennis & Akers ad.

Jim, who later went on to work in radio news at WVJS here in town, sent me a copy of a Dennis & Akers radio ad. They were a Paul Harvey sponsor. Take a listen. This is an amazing Owensboro throwback.

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Here in the Owensboro area, Dennis & Akers really was "routine" for so many people. It certainly was part of Jim's. Jeanette's too. And by "routine", I mean "routine." Jeanette says she worked exactly twenty hours a week and her schedule was the same EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK. All these years later, she still remembers it.

"I worked every Saturday and Sunday during the afternoon and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to close."

The schedule was reliable and so was the paycheck. She fondly recalls, "It was a good first job as a teenager." Jeanette says she made exactly $58.25 per check. That may not sound like much now, but back then, in the mid 80s, she was able to save up and to pay for her trip to France.