Few businesses remain open for more than a generation; even fewer make it to the half-century mark; and now a days one is making history if the business surpasses that mark. Tabor Drugs of Louisville has done just that by celebrating their 65th year in business.
There are only a handful of Winston County establishments that have made it over 65 years: The Winston County Journal, Taylor Machine Works, Winston Furniture Company, Citizen Bank and Trust (now Citizens Bank), and King Auto and Appliance (now K & W Appliance). This month Tabor Drugs will celebrate 65 years.
Established by Homer Bourland and Roger Parkes in the 1940s, Bourland and Parkes Drug Store operated until 1954 when it was purchased by a group of local doctors: Dr. J.E. Calloway, Dr. Joe K. Suttle, Dr. R.B. Hickman, and Dr. John Crawford. They renamed it City Pharmacy and employed a new pharmacist. He was William Earl “Bill” Tabor, Jr. who had graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy in 1950.
Although Bill Tabor was a relatively young man, within a few months he had purchased the business from the doctors and renamed it Tabor Drugs. Now 65 years later, both the Tabor name and his Tabor descendants remain with the business. After he bought the business, Tabor served as manager and pharmacist. His employees were Roy Lancaster, Nancy Aycock McCool, Ann Tucker, and Wayne Aycock.
Born to William E. Tabor, Sr. and Clara Watts Tabor of the Lobutcha Community, Bill Tabor served in the World War II prior to becoming a pharmacist. He was sent to the South Pacific Theatre where he was subsequently captured by the Japanese and head as a prisoner of war for three years and five months. During his capture he survived the Bataan Death March. After the war he returned to Mississippi, settled in Louisville, married Frances Johnson and fathered four children: William E. Tabor, III, Brenda Tabor Hunt, Mary Martha Tabor, and Charlotte Tabor. He had six grandchildren.
Daughter Mary Tabor graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy in 1981 and immediately went to work at Tabor Drugs. Her father, Bill Tabor, was actively running the store at the time and he remained in that role until his death in 1993. When Bill Tabor passed away Mary became the owner and manager.
Mary and her family are very proud to carry on the tradition of service that Bill Tabor represented. Mary has a full staff of employees. Candice Cefula has been a pharmacist at Tabor Drugs for 10 years and Candice’s husband Bubba is serving as a pharmacist as well. Employees are Dulcie Stewart, Mandy Shepheard, Skylar Alford, Justice Steele, and Tammy Harrell.
