Happy Birthday, Umatilla Drug Store!

    Umatilla Drug Store, Umatilla’s locally owned and operated pharmacy, spent last week celebrating 15 years of service to the community. Operated by the Greer family, Umatilla Drug Store provides a full service of pharmaceutical services with a personal touch.
    “We feel blessed,” said Claudia Greer of the occasion, describing the drug store as a ‘ministry’ effort of the family, dedicated to bringing a Christ-centered pharmaceutical experience to the store’s customers. “It has allowed us to minister to those who are hurting.”
    Richard ‘Doc’ Greer and his family opened the drug store, which filled a void in the Umatilla area left when Umatilla Pharmacy closed years before. In the last 15 years, the store has provided a full range of services to thousands of people in need of physical, and at times, emotional health issues.
    The last two years, in particular, have seen the family work to help customers deal with a seemingly never-ending string of physical and emotional health problems. The COVID 19 pandemic's impact on North Lake County has placed an even greater need on the pharmacy's staff.
    “It’s been very testing,” Claudia Greer said this week, “Usually, we know what to tell people about health, but there is so much to COVID that it has been tough.”
    While the drug store staff carries a full line of prescription and non-prescription healthcare products, as well as cards and gift items, Greer says no amount of earthly remedies has the single, correct answer to these current troubled times.
    “God is the only one who is going to heal us all.”
    Umatilla Drug Store is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday. The pharmacy is located at 901 N. Central Avenue, and can be reached at 352-669-1166.