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If you’re a kid, and you live in Rock Hall, you have probably visited Durding’s Store. For over three generations, young people have gone to Durding’s to get some of the best ice-cream, sodas and treats around. Durding’s, as it is today, was bought by Miss Helen Durding’s grandfather in 1872. It was a pharmacy. His wife, who helped with the business, became the first female pharmacist in Maryland. The original pharmacy globes, that told customers that Durding’s was a pharmacy, are still hanging in the front display windows. Miss Helen’s grandfather was a pharmacist by day and a postman by night. The front door of the store still has the old mail slot in it. Townspeople dropped mail into the box through the slot so that it could be sorted and delivered in town.
Durding’s store is one block from our school. It is on the corner of Sharp Street and Main Street. That is one on the main intersections in the middle of town. The store’s decorations are festive. They change with each holiday.
Durding’s makes sodas the old-fashioned way. The syrup is added to a cup of ice. There are chocolate, cherry, sprite, vanilla, diet, root beer and coke syrups to choose from. Each flavor is in its own container with a hand pump. The waitress chooses the flavor syrup that you want, and add three pumps of syrup to the cup. Then the waitress puts seltzer water into your cup. Finally, you stir up the syrup and soda water. A soda made this way tastes better, and sweeter,than a regular soda that you buy today. Another vintage thing about Durding’s is the cash register. It is made from black wood. It has levers you have to push down to open up the cash drawer.
The cash register looks like a typewriter. The old cash register only shows the total of the sale. You have to add all of the prices together in you head to get the total. You push down the levers whose value is equal to the total to show the customer the price. The cash drawer opens so that you can make change. On shelves behind the counter, and over the old pharmacy closet that is used to hold the penny candy, is a collection of antique medicine containers. They are all original; and some of them even date back to when Mr. Merck (who sold the store to Mr. Durding in 1872) owned the store. The oiled floor is original and dark with age. It is over 100 years
old. The ceiling is not original. The owners of Durding’s contacted the Smithsonian American History Museum to find out what kinds of ceilings were used in pharmacies in 1872. They decided to put in a tin ceiling with a design molded into it. The ceiling is painted white.When you walk into Durding’s store, you will hear old-time classical music playing. You will also hear the echo of people’s conversations as they sit in the boots, along the wall, eating. The first thing you see when you walk into the store is the long pink marble counter top. Next to the counter top is an ice cream cooler. On top of it are stacks of ice cream cones: plain, sugar, and waffle. There are also samples of the yummy baked goods made fresh at Durding’s. A customer would notice the big, old card rack in the center of the store. A phone booth from by-gone days is in the back of the store. There is a variety of two cent candies available for sale. The best things at Durding's are the things you smell. Cherry scented candles fill the air. The aroma of fresh baked pies and brewing coffee are also noticed.
Durding’s store works with the school to promote reading and good grades. Certificates for free ice cream cones are given to students who complete three book reviews for the school media specialist in a marking period. Students who make Honor Roll earn sundae certificates. There are a lot of great reasons why the kids in Rock Hall always like to visit Durding's store for a trip to the past.
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