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The LAKER EAST PASCO EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
F E B RUA RY 1 5 , 2 0 1 7
Crowd gives Bilirakis an earful By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
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A crowd — that sometimes became raucous — turned out to a listening session held by U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis on the issue of health care reform. Bilirakis billed the session as an opportunity to receive feedback and ideas from constituents on the future direction of the nation’s health care system, including the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act. People filled every seat of the Pasco County Commission’s chambers at the West
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Tom Touchton was only about 6 years old when he began working at Touchton Drug Store, in the heart of Dade City. He went to work there because his brother, Charlie, who is 3 ½ years older, already was working there. “I figured if he could work there, I could work there,” said Tom, who decades later would become a prime mover in the creCOURTESY OF MADONNA WISE ation of the Tampa Bay History Center in Touchton Drug Store operated in the heart of Dade City, serving customers and providing downtown Tampa. valuable life lessons for Charlie and Tom Touchton, who worked there when they young. When he started at the store, Tom was just tall enough to wash dishes. The Way We Worked “At some point, I was promoted lecture series to be permitted to clean tables.And then, at another point, I was proWHAT: The Pioneer Florida Museum & moted to be permitted to make Village, in conjunction with the Florida sodas and sundaes,” he said. Humanities Council, is presenting a series Later on, he was given the priviof lectures, in conjunction with the muselege of making tuna salad, chicken um’s display of the Smithsonian salad and ham salad sandwiches, he Institution’s traveling exhibit,“The Way We said. Worked.” “Charlie had done all of these WHERE: Pioneer Florida Museum & things before because he was older, Village, 15602 Pioneer Museum Road, and I was always trying to measure Dade City. up to my older brother,”Tom said. B.C. MANION His brother, Charlie, has fond COST: Admission to the museum is $8 for recollections of working in the Charlie and Tom Touchton will share the experiences adults; $6 for seniors; $4 for students, 6 they had while working at Touchton Drug Store at a store. through 18; and free for age 5 and Both men will share their expe- talk on Feb. 18 at 2 p.m., at the Pioneer Florida younger. riences, and what they gleaned Museum & Village in Dade City. DETAILS: The speaker schedule is as folfrom them, on Feb. 18 at 2 p.m., as lows: part of a series of talks being offered by The Both men credit their work at the drug • Imani Asukile,“The Odell Mickens Story,” Pioneer Florida Museum & Village.The talks store for teaching them important, lifelong Feb. 16, 6 p.m. coincide with the museum hosting a travel- lessons. • Tom & Charlie Touchton,“Touchton Drug ing Smithsonian Institution Exhibit called It taught them how to relate to people Store,” Feb. 18, 2 p.m. “The Way We Worked.” from all walks of life, and about the impor• Madonna Wise,“Women and Work,” Touchton Drug Store was a busy place, tance of customer service. March 2, 2 p.m. Charlie recalled. “The same things I learned in the drug • Dr. Steven Noll,“The Way We Worked, FL,” At first, Charlie said, “I worked behind store became relevant, whether you’re sellMarch 4, 2 p.m. the soda fountain, and I washed dishes and I ing a product or you’re selling an idea,” • Nancy Massey Perkins,“Hometown made cokes, and I made sundaes and I made Charlie said. Barber,” March 7, 2 p.m. sodas. “In a small town, the customer is always • Scott Black,“All the Live Long Day Coca-Colas were by far the most popular right because your livelihood depended on (Railroad),” March 9, 6 p.m. drink, he said. those customers,” Tom said. “If they didn’t “The Way We Worked” exhibit will be at “It was automatic, if it was Coca-Cola. have a good experience at Touchton Drug the museum through March 18. The museYou turned a handle. It fed the syrup. It fed Store, then they would go up the street to um’s regular hours are Tuesday through the carbonated beverage,” he said.“If it was another drug store.” Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. anything else, you had to squirt the syrup.” He recalled a customer, named Mr.Ways, INFO: PioneerFloridaMuseum.org People could buy cherry Cokes and lime who refused to pay a newly instituted state Cokes, even ammonia Cokes, which were sales tax. said to relieve headaches. “I went to my grandfather and said,‘What Charlie said he was taught early on not do I do? Mr.Ways is going to leave if I charge ences came in handy when he worked for to mix ammonia with grape juice because him sales tax.’ My grandfather pulled two IBM. that would create a poison. pennies out of his pocket and gave them to me,‘You just ring up 52 cents, you take 50 DEVELOPING SALES SKILLS SELLING COSMETICS WAS FUN At the drug store, Charlie learned about cents from Mr. Ways and here’s the other “Not until I was about 12 or 13, did I real- two cents.’” the art of subtle marketing and about the ly get on to the sundries and goods side,” The store was learning how to deal with concept of upselling. Charlie added, noting he especially enjoyed the new tax, and keeping that customer was It was customary to keep items on the selling cosmetics. counter, such as toothbrushes and Whitman’s important,Tom said. “It was a great place to flirt,” he exBuilding relationships, in any kind of candy, within easy reach of customers, plained. Revlon lipstick, at that time, sold for transactional business, is essential, said $2 a tube. Charlie, noting that his drug store experiSee STORE, page 11A
Managing challenges faced by teens kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
INSIDE, PAGE 1B
See BILIRAKIS, page 11A
Drug store work left lasting impressions
By Kevin Weiss
B
B.C. MANION
Many people brought signs to help communicate their views on the health care issue.
Pasco Government Center in New Port Richey during the Feb. 11 session. They stood in the back of the chamber, and along both walls, and the overflow spilled into government center’s lobby and down a hallway corridor. The crowd was made up of men and women, of all ages and ethnicities. Some came in wheelchairs. Some used walkers or canes. Some carried signs proclaiming such messages such as:“Repair, not repeal.”“The ACA is pro life” and “Health Care is a Human Right.”
From social media to social pressures, the challenges of a teen are unlikely to go away anytime soon. The stresses aren’t going away for parents, either. To help navigate those issues, the Steinbrenner High Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) hosted its fifth annual “World of a Teen” program on Feb. 7, inside the school’s auditorium. An estimated crowd of more than 250 people attended, according to Laura Lopresti, vice president of programs for Steinbrenner High PTSA. Those attending came from numerous
areas public high schools, middle schools, as well as a public elementary, a private school and a public charter school. The award-winning program featured a panel of eight experts, who discussed topics ranging from drug usage and social media habits, to picking the right college. During the 90-minute event, parents and guardians filled out questions on notecards, which then were read anonymously to the panel. The answers were forthright, and panelists had plenty of advice. “I think that a lot of people left here with a lot of questions answered — parents and children— and I think it gave them a lot of content to talk about at home,” said Edgar Guzman, a Tampa-based attorney, one
of the panelists. Drug usage, especially marijuana, was a frequently broached topic. The panelists’ message to the audience: Stay away. Lynn Posyton, community relations specialist for Drug-Free World, said she’s noticed the substance being abused “more and more.” It’s also becoming more hazardous, she said. Posyton noted the levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have increased over the past several decades. That’s the chemical that’s responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects. See TEENS, page 11A