The Oak Ridge Heritage & Preservation Association (ORHPA) has selected Jefferson Compounding & Soda Fountain for its 2024 Historic Preservation Award. The Award is a way to recognize the maintenance and preservation of historic structures in Oak Ridge. Owners Jack Greene and his wife, Connie, began working in the store in 1971 and are much loved by the community. Many locals and visitors come to Jefferson to enjoy its unique offerings of compounded drugs and a selection of gifts and locally authored books, then eat breakfast or lunch at the soda fountain.
The building that houses Jefferson Compounding and Fountain was constructed during the Manhattan Project and is 80 years old. During the war years, the store was part of the Hoskins Drug Stores group and an important part of the Jefferson Center shopping area. The store caught fire in 1974, but workers were able to recover most of their prescription records. Greene remembers that they were wet and had to be dried and peeled apart one at a time. They were able to set up a new “store” in the connected and recently closed Fire Hall, only missing one day of work. Of course, the store and food counter had to be rebuilt but Jefferson claims the title of the oldest drug store and restaurant in Oak Ridge. It was not long after the fire that Greene and his wife were able to purchase Jefferson from Hoskins.
Jefferson Drug Store & Soda Fountain has always been a stomping ground and hang out. With the city’s continuing population growth in 1944, people needed meeting and eating places. The Jefferson Center was built, along with other government cafeterias, to serve the new dormitories and TDUs (Temporary Dwelling Units) that were being built. The “Soda Fountain” was the ideal place to gather and meet others. During the war, it also sponsored many of the city league athletic teams. “My father played basketball for Hoskins team. We still have his jersey and it is displayed at the History Museum in the Sports and Recreation Room,” said Bobbie Martin, a member of the ORHPA Board.
Martin says that when her parents, Red Lynch and Helen Davis, were dating they spent most of their time at the Myers Bros. Skating Rink in the Jefferson area. Afterwards they went to the Jefferson Soda Fountain with their friends to hang out and have something to eat. In 1954 the family moved to 290 Jefferson Ave. Bobbie was 4 years old and the Jefferson Center, which included bowling, a movie theater, Putt Putt and, skating, was the closest area for recreation. At the age of 12, she was allowed to walk to this site with her friends. “We would go to the Atomic Energy Museum. It was free, but we would have our “dime” encased and roam around. I’m sure the employees loved having all the area kids in and out all day! Afterwards we’d dig that dime out of the casing so we could go to the Soda Fountain and order a platter of fries for 50₵ and a drink for 5₵ or a Coke Float for 10₵.”
By presenting the Historic Preservation Award each year, ORHPA members hope that building owners and managers will be encouraged to preserve their structures for the sake of our unique Oak Ridge History. For more information about the preservation award, contact Bobbie Martin at bobbies_arts@hotmail.com or Kathy Kelly at kathykelly135@gmail.com.
