Businesses in downtown Waterloo are saying goodbye to a very long-time neighbor this week as Wightman Pharmacy is closing its doors after 128 years.

While some were made aware of the closure last week, the official announcement came rather abruptly for much of the community late Sunday night via Facebook.

The post on the Wightman Pharmacy page notes that its final day of business is Wednesday, March 26.

A specific reason for the closure isn’t given, with the post simply reading “We have fought the good fight all these years, but because of things beyond our control, we have decided that the best decision is to close the pharmacy.”

The post also notes that prescription records are being sent to Waterloo Walgreens this Thursday, concluding with a thanks to the community for the support over the years.

“We have made this decision with heavy hearts,” the Facebook post states. “We have put our hearts and souls into the pharmacy for 128 years.” 

As reported previously on these pages, Wightman Pharmacy has been in the family for four generations, long serving as a locally-owned alternative to many large corporate pharmacies.

The store began in 1853 with German immigrant Hubert Kunster, who opened the pharmacy inside his own home after having constructed the building in 1872. Kunster was married to Bertha Berghoff, a sister of the town’s doctor.

Some years later, P.A. Hamacher bought the building from Kunster after graduating from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy in 1897.

Hamacher’s daughter, Adele, later married Joseph “Sid” Wightman – another graduate of St. Louis College of Pharmacy – establishing Wightman Pharmacy as it’s known today.

Sid’s son Tom previously spoke with the Republic-Times to discuss the store’s extensive history and his personal memories of the building, recalling how he enjoyed riding down the aisles on his tricycle as a young boy.

With 40 years of operating the business, he had much to say several years ago about how the pharmacy changed, noting how they sold everything from paint to window glass to tobacco products to keep things running as doctors previously provided patients with some medications themselves.

Computers were a particularly big change for the business for both Tom and Wightman’s final owner, Steve.

The pharmacy has been much loved among its customers thanks in part to its ability to fill special prescriptions, compounding medications within the store that large drug companies don’t typically produce in large quantities.

Above all, Wightman Pharmacy has been known and will be remembered for its service, the store and its owners long acting as familiar faces in downtown Waterloo, always putting customers first like only a small-town local business can.

“The Wightmans are not leaving Waterloo, so we will see you around,” the Facebook post states. “We are just closing one chapter and starting a new one. We are so thankful for you support and loyalty all of these years. We will miss you. You are all part of the Wightman Pharmacy family.”