Thursday, October 10, 2013

Doc Noble's Drugstore 1924-1967

When Norman Cyril [later "Doc"] Noble was born on November 24, 1893, in Orange, Ohio, his father, John, was 33 and his mother, Inez, was 29. He married his first wife, Leona S. Baker Noble, on July 27, 1920, in Macon, Missouri. About 1953 he married his second wife, Jennalou Green Engle Noble, in Ohio.  Marrying Jennalou, Doc Noble became step-father to Eugene Engle (NVHS 1962).
Doc Noble at New Vienna Drug Store 1956.  Image Courtesy of Mike Whited.
Noble was a registered pharmacist, and owned and operated Noble's Drug Store in New Vienna for 43 years, 1924 to 1967. He died in March 1967 in New Vienna, Ohio, at the age of 73, and was buried in Lebanon, Ohio.

The drug store during Doc Noble's tenure was a dimly lit space with a magazine rack near the front window and though Doc Noble generally sat behind a counter in the middle of the store, he kept an eagle eye on anyone looking at the magazines or comic books.  He was known to call parents if young eyes wandered to the more racy magazines or acted at all suspiciously.  There were many glass cases around the walls, small tables (at one time there was a soda fountain), and shelves going up to the ceiling along the walls.  There was a postcard rack with New Vienna and other local scenes depicted.

Doc Noble's sister, Alma Nease Noble, 1901-1992, had a PhD in romance languages.  She taught French and Latin at the college level.  In 1985 she established at Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, the Norman Cyril Noble Memorial Scholarship Fund for academically successful students who show financial need.

In addition to the apartment above the drug store, Doc Noble also had a farm on Noble Road where he had Belgian Horses.

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Sources:
Ancestry.com info about Norman Cyril Noble.


2 comments:

  1. Interesting info! I wonder if the scholarship at OSU is still active? Too bad I missed out on his pharmacy--he passed not too long before I was born. So, he apparently had some racy magazines in his pharmacy; that is a bit surprising to me. Where is Noble road? Thanks much for your work here!

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  2. Noble Road is on the west side of New Vienna, extending from Phillips St. south of SR-28. It is County Road 285, until it crosses the Highland County Line, then is CR-134. Also labeled as New Vienna Road on the google map. Here is a link to the map: http://goo.gl/maps/NeD85.

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