A piece of the old brick stores

DR. D.F. SMITH was Esto’s most prominent and beloved citizen during the first half of the 20th century. He served the town and surrounding area as a family physician, making house calls, delivering babies and providing the curatives then available to those who were ill.

He also operated a drug store in which he was his own pharmacist, with the help of his wife, Beckie, and daughter, Delma. Their residence and his medical office were in the back.

The drug store and clinic were part of what was always known in Esto as “the old brick stores.” The wide red brick building just north of the railroad tracks at one time also offered hardware, dry goods and clothing. Only the southern third of the building remains, now empty and forlorn, after many years as home to Wells Grocery and the post office.

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But a piece of the old brick stores lives on a few miles north of town. A long wood and glass showcase from the stores is one of many treasures in the home of Vivian Kirkland Holman, the granddaughter of Dr. Smith. Her mother, Delma Lee Smith, and father, local farmer U.T. Kirkland, inherited the store and operated it in the 1940s and 50s, before selling to Jewel Wells. [Vivian’s parents were also the editor’s keepers during his first five years and his lifelong surrogate parents, making Vivian nearly his big sister.]

During a recent visit, Vivian shared the story of how she came to be the caretaker of a piece of the old brick stores.