It’s been a long time since 1972 -- the year I graduated from Northern Burlington Regional High School in Columbus NJ. Those of you who have known me from my Cookstown years, know how long and hard I’ve worked to get here. But it’s finally a reality. Since this is a new beginning for us, I thought it would be appropriate to go back to the very beginning and tell you a little about my early years when Hartman’s Pharmacy and Bunn’s Olde Tyme Pharmacy were merely a dream.

I got the idea for this newsletter while setting up the new store last summer. Right in the middle of my NJ Medicaid inspection, a gentlemen walked in to greet me and wish me luck. He looked familiar. (Of course, in my business, everybody looks familiar.) Somehow I knew that we went farther back then my days at Hartman's Pharmacy. After he left, it hit me. I knew him from my younger days at Hanover Country Club in Jacobstown.

Like most of my customers, you probably don't know that I spent my high school years and college summers growing up in Cookstown. That's right...I moved to Cookstown with my family back in 1970. I graduated from Northern Burlington in 1972 and spent 8 great summers working and making many dear friends at Hanover Country Club. I still see many of my old chums here at the new store.

So let’s back up and tell you how I got interested in the pharmacy business. It all started back in the late 60s and early 70s. I was living in Hopewell, NJ at the time. My first exposure to independent pharmacy was from a neighbor who owned Hopewell Pharmacy. I remember going in his store as a kid, buying some penny candy and loving the atmosphere of his old-fashioned drugstore. That was the spark that ignited my future career in pharmacy.

A couple years later, back in the summer of 1970, I moved to Cookstown, NJ with my family and entered the 11th grade at Northern Burlington. I met one of my very best friends (to this very day) in Chemistry class. Fortunately for both of us, I was a whiz at chemistry. (He still gives me credit for helping him pass.) He sat behind me and bugged me for chemistry help. I returned the favor by bugging him daily for job at Hanover Country Club. (He worked there and his dad was club president.) I started as a caddy, but soon worked my way out to the sunny greens and fairways. I spent the next eight summers maintaining the grounds as an assistant to the greens keeper.

As fate would have it, I met the owner of Hartman's Pharmacy, Ernie Kerekes. Actually, I met his wife Flo first. She spent a lot of time at the country club pool, planning outdoor luncheons. She wouldn't let anyone eat until I got off my tractor and had the first bite. To this day, I still remember her pistachio pie. It was a nice cool treat after a long day in the sun cutting grass and dodging golf balls.

Thanks to the influence of Ernie and Flo, I entered pre-pharmacy at Auburn University in Alabama. Upon entering pharmacy school in 1975 I had a strong desire to begin practicing my profession during my summers in New Jersey. That summer, I walked into Ernie's drugstore in New Egypt and asked him for a night job. He hesitated a little until I said "you don't have to pay me". That was my start at Hartman's Pharmacy.

I spent my days working on the golf course and my evenings working with Ernie in the pharmacy. When we weren't busy, I'd flip through hundreds of prescriptions trying to read them. My love for the pharmacy business grew and grew. Late August that year I told Ernie I was off to Auburn University for my second year in pharmacy school. He thanked me for all the help and paid me for all the hours I worked that summer. He also invited me back to work the following summer when I returned from school.

Ernie and I became good friends. After graduation, he allowed me to do my pharmacy internship at Hartman's. My dream to own Hartman's Pharmacy was only a few years away. After passing my board exams, I got a job at Lane Drugs in Mt Holly. I still kept in touch with Ernie and Flo, bugging them every chance I’d get to sell me the drugstore someday. Finally, after years of asking, my dream came true. I bought into the business in 1986.

Owning Hartman's Pharmacy was a great experience for me. Unfortunately, as times inevitably changed, it became harder and harder to stay profitable as a small country drugstore. I decided early on that the only way to survive was to get bigger. I spent ten years looking for downtown locations but failed to find anything suitable. My only chance for growth was to get out of the Main Street area. And so...Bunn's Olde Tyme Pharmacy was born.

Our new facility was designed with you in mind.

I made every attempt to design my new pharmacy with your needs in mind. Heck, I even let one of your fellow customers "Kathy Elliott" name the new store. (Do you remember my "Name My New Store Contest".) Finally, no more horrible parking and no more cramped shopping conditions. You have 250++% more cards and gifts to choose from and a new "The Wellness Store" nutritional center to improve your health with natural products. We even have a waiting area with chairs to sit in (although most of you like to wander up and down my aisles looking at all the great stuff).

FREE Workshops in our New Community Ed Center!

Since educating my customers is one of my greatest passions, I’ve outfitted a new community education center in our facility for seminars and workshops.

Custom Compounding to Offer You the Most Comprehensive Prescription Service in Central New Jersey!

We’re going back to the basics by offering you custom compounded prescriptions. We joined Professional Compounding Centers of America and the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists to acquire the necessary training, certification and state-of-the-art compounding equipment to meet your most challenging prescription needs. When you need answers and traditional drugs don't fit, we fill in the gaps with our innovative, problem-solving compounded medicines. Here's a few examples:

*Finicky kids -- no problem with our custom dosage forms and delicious flavorings.

*Drug discontinued or unavailable from the manufacturer -- no problem. If the raw material is available we can make it.

*Disgusted with the risks and side effects of horse hormones disguised as human estrogen -- no problem with our natural hormone replacement.

*Sick doggy or kitty won’t take their medicine -- no problem with our customized dosage forms and veterinary flavorings. They’ll lick it off your hand.

Familiar Faces and New Faces

All your friends from Hartman’s Pharmacy have joined our new team. Andre LaPierre, Fred Messinger & myself will serve your pharmacy needs. You’ll see Donna Forlenza’s smiling face behind the pharmacy counter too. Debbie Reynolds, Michelle Etgen, Diane Schroeder, our highschoolers Laina, Darcy, Rachel, and Heather are here too.

Hope to see you very soon,
Allen