The Retail Druggist Memorial Grove in Riverside Park
- Ed Fujawa
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Two or three weeks ago I was working on some nature photography at Riverside Park. As I was driving to my start point at the Lake Indy Boat Ramp, I happened to look to my left towards the tennis courts and playing fields located just south of 30th Street and spotted a large boulder sitting in an open area. Normally I would not think much of this, but the boulder seemed to have some writing carved on its face. After my photo trip along the river, I returned to where I had seen the boulder, and sure enough, it did have carved wording. I have ridden my bike past this boulder, which is pretty visible, a few hundred times over the years but for some reason never noticed the wording.
As shown, the inscription reads as follows:
Memorial Grove
Women’s Organization
National Association
Retail Druggists
Indpls Chapter
No. 20
The National Association Retail Druggists was a trade group founded in 1898 to support independent and community pharmacies from the expansion of larger pharmacies, what today we would describe as the corporate or chain pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens. Early on they had particular concern for pharmaceutical services being provided at large department stores around the country, a threat to the smaller, neighborhood pharmacies.
In 1905 the association added a branch for women, its “Women’s Organization,” which opened chapters across the country. This organization supported women in the pharmacy business, but also included women whose husbands or fathers were in the industry. Often community pharmacies were family affairs which engaged the whole family in the operation of the business. In 1916, the National Association Retail Druggists, and the Women's Organization, held their national meeting and convention in Indianapolis, at the Claypool Hotel. Part of the events for the convention included a trip to view automobile races at the Motor Speedway. The outing was sponsored by the Eli Lilly Company.
The rock in Riverside Park is at the center of what was once a Memorial Grove, or trees planted in remembrance of a person or event. These groves were common way to remember a person or people at the time. There were also memorial groves located at the Municipal Gardens, Garfield Park, and Brookside Park.
For the National Association Retail Druggists Women’s Organization, a memorial grove was planted on April 20, 1928, at Riverside Park and consisted of two trees, an elm and tulip. The planting was done in memory of two members, Mary Elizabeth Wurm and Johanna Mary Borst, who had both passed away during the prior decade.
Wurm was a nurse who had joined the army and served during World War I. She likely saw the height of the Spanish Flu Pandemic during her time in service. Her father operated the Fogas Pharmacy and her husband, Otto, was also a pharmacist. She passed away on January 20, 1921, and received what was reputed to be the first military funeral for a nurse at Crown Hill Cemetery from her local American Legion post. A notice in local papers on January 5, 1921, noted that she had given birth to a baby girl at St. Vincent. Considering the short time period between the birth and Mary’s death, there may have been complications with the delivery which led to her death. Her death certificate noted "acute cardiac dilatation" which may be an indicator for peripartum cardiomyopathy, a heart condition which can impact a woman late in a pregnancy or just after delivery. Her daughter, Mary Jane, survived and passed away in 2009.
Borst was a charter member of the local Indianapolis druggist organization and married to Harry J. Borst, who operated a pharmacy in Indianapolis. Johanna, or Mary and she was known by, had emigrated to the United States from England in the 1870s before settling in Indianapolis.
The inscribed rock did not arrive at Riverside Park until 1932 when a ceremony was held for its dedication. The rock was reportedly obtained at Crown Hill Cemetery.
The Women’s Organization rock can be seen at the location on the aerial image below.
The trees planted back in the 1920s are no longer at the site, although as recently as last year, a tree was standing close behind the stone (as shown below in the Street view from 2024), although it was dead and appears to have been removed during the past year or so. The red arrow shows the site of the memorial stone.
The image below shows roughly the same view as above. The remains of the tree can be seen in the background. However, I do not think this tree was one of the original planted by the National Association Retail Druggists. A look back at the 1986 aerial for this area shows the stone sitting alone, with no trees, aside from a few pines nearby.
The National Association Retail Druggists still operates today but is now known as the National Community Pharmacist Association.
Sources
Indianapolis Star: January 5, 1921, January 23, 1921, May 1, 1927, April 20, 1928, April 21, 1928.
Indianapolis News: January 28, 1896, September 14, 1916, October 17, 1932.
Indianapolis City Directories, 1917, 1920
Registering Pharmacists, The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections 2012, https://images.indianahistory.org/digital/collection/p16797coll68/id/4819/rec/1