J.H. Ritsch & Co


Company Names, addresses, dates:
  J.H. Ritsch & Co, Covington VA (1885-1930)1

Notes:
John Henry Ritsch (1864-1939)2 went to Lexington as a child, and learned the drug business working in the store of Benjamin H. Gorrell in Lexington VA. He started his own drugstore business in Covington in 1885.1

In 1895, a newspaper reported that Ritsch's mind had become somewhat impaired, and that he was taken to the asylum at Staunton to recover. It mentioned that he had recently taken the "Keeley Cure", which was a popular treatment for alchoholism in the 1890s. 3
Whatever his issue was, he apparently recovered as he continued to run his drugstore successfully in subsequent years.

Bottles:

ritsch_01 This is a clear 4.25" bottle embossed:
horizontal: FROM / J.H.RITCH / & CO / PRESCRIPTION / DRUGGISTS / COVINGTON / VA
base: PAT JUNE 17 88 / S.B.


1 Rockbridge County News, 27-Mar-1930, page 2 (obituary for John Ritsch)
2 Find-a-grave entry for John Henry Ritsch
3 Rockbridge County News, 18-Jul-1895, page 2


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This page last updated on July 24, 2022.