06/01/2020
Written by Lowell Anderson:
OBITUARY: Many important members of our Twin Cities community were destroyed this week.
After 102 years of providing services and support for our community, Lloyd’s Pharmacy of St. Paul was destroyed. It was looted and burned to the ground on 29 May. It is the only independent community pharmacy for several miles in St. Paul – a city that is virtually devoid of independent pharmacies. Lloyd’s was an important medication-compounding resource for physicians and patients in the Twin Cities; and the local pharmacy for those who valued personal service. For many years it was owned and operated by colleagues and friends.
Lloyd’s was an employer of thousands of our fellow citizens over its lifetime: A first-employer of generations of young people, where they learned responsibility, accountability and integrity. Many pharmacists and pharmacy technicians practiced here over the years. It was a primary health resource for the community, where medicines were compounded and dispensed, and health information was freely given.
This locally owned pharmacy was the victim of the Twin Cities riots resulting from the tragic murder of George Floyd. These rioters senselessly destroyed businesses in Minneapolis and St. Paul that were vital for their communities. The destruction was indiscriminate --- destroying large and small stores: shopping centers, grocery stores, banks, restaurants, hair-salons, clinics, tech stores, and pharmacies. It was rapacious --- breaking the windows, stealing everything that was moveable, and then burning it. The perpetrators will most likely never be held accountable because they are unknown.
Everyone goes into business with a dream. The rioters destroyed the dreams of hundreds of small-business owners. These businesses represented life-long commitments of time and resources. Many were family businesses that employed multiple generations; some were operated by people who came to this country to achieve the American dream. Their locating in these communities was tangible evidence that these business owners believed in the communities they served.
Too many of these businesses died in the communities they served. RIP.