More than medicine

Jimmy Crane is the pharmacist and owner of Gilmer Drugs, a long-time institution in downtown Ensley. And like other business people, he has to make a living.

But the store means something more to Crane, who grew up in Fairfield and has been a pharmacist for over 30 years.

Gilmer Drug provides Crane and his staff with the opportunity to help people in an economically challenged community still reeling from job losses in recent decades at nearby U.S. Steel facilities.

In fact, Crane is seeking to make the store — in existence for 118 years, he said — not just a place for residents to fill their prescriptions.

He is also making Gilmer Drugs into a sort of general store and community gathering spot for once-bustling Ensley — a safe, pleasant place to shop for convenience items, buy fresh produce or just sit at the front table and talk to friends or wait for a bus.

The pharmacy staff also strives to help customers understand their medicines and navigate co-pays, insurance and the other issues of a complex health care system.

“It’s a mission,” Crane said of the store. “At my age and what I’ve been through, I could be making more money at a chain, but I chose a different way of life.”

And Gilmer Drugs was recently honored for its community engagement with an award from the non-profit group Main Street Alabama, according to a news release from REV Birmingham.

Crane and his wife, Karen, who grew up in Minor, decided about a year ago to invest more of their money in the store, Crane said.

“God put it in my heart, I guess, but my wife and I are committed to Ensley,” he said.

“We view it more as a ministry than a job,” Karen Crane said. “We’re committed to staying here as long as [God]  would have us here.”

They’re making improvements to the nine-employee store, including the addition of more merchandise such as grocery and household items. And it will be reasonably priced, Crane said. “I am not here to prey on this community,” he said.

Plans for the store include health fairs, health screenings and other events, according to Crane. The store already features a produce stand as part of a REV Birmingham initiative.

Crane enjoys his work. “I love the interaction with the individuals,” he said. “I’ve just always been a people person.”

One long-time employee, cashier and Ensley resident Lucilla Miles, also enjoys that daily interaction.

“I love my job, and I love talking to the customers,” said Miles, an employee of the store for 21 years.

Long-time customer Elizabeth Theresa Brown, who grew up in Ensley and volunteers at the Wednesday clothes closet, likes the warm, friendly atmosphere at the store.

“Everybody in here gets to know you by name and asks how you feel,” Brown said.

That friendly vibe also makes it easier for Crane and the other staffers, including technician Chris Plan and technician Jackie Key, to help patients figure out a solution when, for example, they have an expensive co-pay on a badly needed medication.

“I hope we bring that personal service,” he said. “We can help bridge that gap when there are issues with insurance.”

Crane said he is “very hopeful” overall for Ensley’s future, and he expressed support for a city plan to create a combined public safety headquarters in the old McCormack office building in downtown Ensley. “I think it would be phenomenal,” he said.

He said the hundreds of employees and visitors drawn to the facility could help stimulate the need for “ancillary businesses,” including a restaurant, in the Ensley retail core.

Josh and Elizabeth Brenneman run a pop-up coffee shop at Gilmer Drugs on alternate Wednesdays, so that Crane can provide his customers with complimentary coffee.

Josh Brenneman said that he and his wife have enjoyed being in Ensley.

“Everybody here is a family,” he said, while making a tall Americano for a visitor. “There’s a tight-knit community with the businesses. They all work together.”

Crane was surprised and pleased, but a little shy, about the store winning the Main Street Alabama award.

“I like to be a low-key person,” Crane said. “It’s just a joint effort for a lot of people.”

And Crane said he realized how much the neighborhood has given him.

“It’s not just the store being a blessing to the community, it’s that this community has been a blessing to me,” Cranes said.

He learned a valuable spiritual lesson working there. “Getting to know the people and understanding the struggles some of them had, I’m more sympathetic,” he said.

“We need to help our neighbor get a fresh start,” he said.