Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

N.C.R. CASH REGISTER

Date

1942

Materials

STEEL, ALUMINIUM, WOOD

No. Pieces

1

Height

75.4

Length

55.5

Width

49.8

Description

4 DRAWER ELECTRIC REGISTER, BLACK & CHROME FINISH. MISSING 1 KEY COVER & HANDLE FOR MANUAL OPERATION. NUMERIC & LETTER CODE KEYPAD WHICH IDENTIFIES TRANSACTION, VALUE, TYPE & CASH DRAWER USED. IN WORKING ORDER. SOME RUST ON SIDES. RED & BLACK LABELS ON TOP FRONT RIGHT CORNER "STAMPS..IN-D...". SILVER NAMEPLATE IN BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER OF REGISTER "4050480 1544 (41E) RS 4" WINDOW AT BOTTOM OF REGISTER IS A COUNTER. SILVER KNOB ON FRONT LEFT BOTTOM CORNER. PAPER RECEIPT FOUND WITH REGISTER "DRAFFINS FOR DRUGS". PAPER STAINED IN BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER AND PRINT FROM REGISTER IS FAINT.

Subjects

MERCHANDISING T&E

Historical Association

BUSINESS

History

PURCHASED IN 1942 BY SIDNEY JACKSON, EARLY DRUGGEST WHO CAME FROM CLINTON ONT. IN 1905 AFTER GRADUATING FROM TORONTO COLLEGE OF PHARMACY. EMPLOYED BY J.D. HIGINBOTHAM, LATER (1935) BECAME PRESIDENT OF AB. PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOC. DONOR ACQUIRED MACHINE IN 1946 FROM JACKSON WHEN HE PURCHASED BUSINESS. (JACKSON ACQUIRED BUSINESS LOCATED IN MARQUIS HOTEL FROM HIGINBOTHAM IN LATE 1920'S). DONOR CHANGED BUSINESS NAME TO DRAFFIN'S. SON RODNEY TOOK OVER BUSINESS IN 1969 & IN 1975 MOVED TO NEW LOCATION. CASH REGISTER TAKEN OUT OF SERVICE AT THAT TIME. REGISTER ALLOWED EACH CLERK TO HAVE OWN CASH DRAWER. HIGINBOTHAM 1ST DRUGGIST IN LETHBRIDGE, DRAFFIN'S IS A DIRECT LINK TO THAT PIONEER BUSINESS. *UPDATE* IN 2010 NICOLE HEMBROFF, COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT, CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF PALLET RACKING. SHE MET WITH ROD DRAFFIN (SON OF GEORGE DRAFFIN) TO DISCUSS THE CASH REGISTER. SEE BELOW. ACCORDING TO ROD DRAFFIN, HIS FATHER, GEORGE DRAFFIN, CAME TO LETHBRIDGE IN 1929 AFTER GRADUATING FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN. HE WORKED WITH SYDNEY JACKSON RIGHT AWAY. GEORGE DIDN’T REGISTER WITH THE ALBERTA PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION UNTIL 1932. GEORGE BECAME A PARTNER WITH SYDNEY JACKSON IN 1942. HE EVENTUALLY BOUGHT SYDNEY OUT IN 1946. IN 1947 GEORGE PURCHASED JACKSON DRUG, LOCATED AT 401 5TH ST. S. HE RENAMED THE BUSINESS DRAFFIN DRUG. DRAFFIN RECALLED THAT LOCATION BEING PARTICULARLY WINDY. ACCORDING TO OUR OLD RECORDS, THE CASH REGISTER CAME WITH THE BUSINESS WHEN IT WAS PURCHASED FROM SYDNEY JACKSON. DRAFFIN SAID HE DIDN’T THINK SYDNEY JACKSON HAD EVER OWNED THE CASH REGISTER. “SYDNEY JACKSON WAS OLD AND SET IN HIS WAYS. HE DIDN’T WANT TO SPEND ANY MONEY ON NEW TECHNOLOGY.” HE REMEMBERED HIS DAD, GEORGE, TALKING ABOUT “NCR BLACK,” THE MAKERS OF THE CASH REGISTER. THUS, HE THINKS HIS DAD PURCHASED IT NEW. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN PURCHASED DIRECTLY FROM THE DEALER, THE NATIONAL CASH REGISTER COMPANY (NCR). HE ALSO SAID THE REGISTER HAD A MAINTENANCE CONTRACT WITH A MAN, “JIM LONG WAS HIS NAME.” HE WAS THE NCR MAINTENANCE REPRESENTATIVE. HE WOULD COME IN TWO OR THREE TIMES A YEAR TO KEEP THE REGISTER IN WORKING ORDER. DRAFFIN STARTED WORKING AT GEORGE DRAFFIN’S STORE AT THE AGE OF 11. ACCORDING TO DRAFFIN, “IT [THE CASH REGISTER] WAS ALWAYS THERE.” HE REMEMBERS THE CASH REGISTER AS BEING “NEAT” AS IT RAN BY ELECTRICITY VERSUS OTHER CASH REGISTERS WHICH WERE HAND OPERATED. IT WAS A MODERN CASH REGISTER FOR ITS TIME. HE LEARNED HOW TO USE A CASH REGISTER ON THAT MACHINE. ONE OF ITS FEATURES WAS THE FOUR DRAWERS “A,” “B,” “D,” AND “E.” EACH CLERK WOULD HAVE THEIR OWN DRAWER. “WE COUNTED FOUR DIFFERENT CASH DRAWERS AT THE END OF EACH DAY, IT WAS ARDUOUS.” THE REGISTER HAD A TILL TAPE WHICH WOULD ALLOW THE CUSTOMER TO HAVE A RECEIPT. THERE WAS A SECONDARY TAPE FOR TILL TOTALS. IN ORDER TO USE THE REGISTER ONE WOULD PUNCH IN A NUMBER AND HIT THE MOTOR BAR. THIS MADE THE MACHINE GO “KA-CHUNK, KA-CHUNK.” IT KEPT A RUNNING TOTAL. THE CASH REGISTER WAS ONLY USED FOR CASH SALES. OTHER SALES WERE WRITTEN IN A BOOK THAT PRODUCED CARBON COPY BILLS OF SALE. THE SALES WERE KEPT IN A LEDGER AND CUSTOMERS WERE BILLED AT THE END OF THE MONTH. THE REGISTER WAS LOCATED AT THE 401 5 ST. S LOCATION. DRAFFIN REMEMBERS, “IT WEIGHED A TON WHEN WE MOVED IT.” IT SAT IN A CABINET IN THE COUNTER. THE TOP HALF OF THE REGISTER SAT ABOVE THE COUNTER, WHILE THE DRAWERS WERE LOCATED BELOW THE COUNTER SURFACE. “YOU HAD TO REACH DOWN PRETTY FAR TO GET TO THE BOTTOM DRAWER.” WHILE THE REGISTER WAS IN USE AT THE PHARMACY, THEY WOULD LEAVE ITS DRAWERS OPEN AFTER THEY HAD SHUT DOWN FOR THE NIGHT. “WE WOULD LEAVE A $25 FLOAT IN THE DRAWER OF THE REGISTER TO SATISFY THIEVES WHO BROKE IN AT NIGHT.” IT WAS A MEASURE TO “PREVENT THEM FROM SMASHING UP THE STORE.” THE CASH REGISTER WAS IN OPERATION UNTIL 1975 WHEN THE STORE WAS RELOCATED FROM 401 5 ST S. TO ITS LOCATION IN LETHBRIDGE CENTRE MALL. ALTHOUGH THE REGISTER “LASTED FOR EVER,” THE NEW STORE HAD NEWER EQUIPMENT. LED/DIGITAL CASH REGISTERS MADE THE OLD ELECTRIC MODEL OBSOLETE. THEY TRIED TO SELL THE OLD REGISTER BUT EVERYONE WANTED LIGHTER, SMALLER MODELS. AFTER THE CASH REGISTER’S USE WAS DISCONTINUED IT WAS STORED IN GEORGE DRAFFIN’S GARAGE. THE SECOND AND FOURTH DRAWERS ON THE CASH REGISTER ARE OPEN AND BOTH OF THEM ARE DAMAGED – INDENTS IN THE WOOD ALONG THE MIDDLE OF THE OUTER RIM OF THE DRAWERS. ACCORDING TO DRAFFIN, SOMEONE BROKE INTO THE GARAGE AND SUBSEQUENTLY THE CASH REGISTER. THEY JIMMIED THE DRAWERS IN ORDER TO LOOK FOR MONEY. THE DAMAGE WAS NOT FIXED DUE TO THE COST OF THE REPAIRS. DRAFFIN WANTED TO DONATE IT BECAUSE HE “DIDN’T WANT TO SEE IT GO TO THE DUMP.” HIS DAD WASN’T IN GOOD SHAPE SO THEY WERE CLEANING STUFF OUT OF THE GARAGE. AT THAT POINT, THE CASH REGISTER HAD BEEN SITTING IN THE GARAGE FOR A LONG TIME. DRAFFIN HAD BEEN WITH THE KINSMEN FORT WHOOP-UP HISTORICAL SOCIETY SO THEY HAD WORKED WITH THE GALT QUITE A LOT. HE THOUGHT THE CASH REGISTER MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO THE MUSEUM. ALSO, DRAFFIN’S MOM (HELEN) WAS BORN IN LETHBRIDGE IN 1909 SO HE “ALWAYS FELT AKIN TO LETHBRIDGE.” IN TERMS OF FAMILY HISTORY, GEORGE “LIVED WITH HIS MOM AND SIX SIBLINGS. HIS FATHER GEORGE SR. WAS A BAKER AND WAS IN THE ARMED FORCES FOR A LONG TIME. HE WAS IN THE BOER WAR AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND WORKED AS A BAKER.” AFTER THAT HE “CAME HOME TO SASKATOON AND WORKED IN A BAKERY. HE MADE WONDERFUL SCOTTISH SHORT BREAD.” GEORGE WORKED WITH LIGGETT’S PHARMACY IN SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN AS A YOUNG MAN. THE PHARMACIST LET HIM HELP OUT. GEORGE WENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN. “HE WAS THE ONLY ONE, OUT OF A FAMILY OF SEVEN, TO GO TO UNIVERSITY.” WHEN HE GRADUATED IN 1929 “THE MARKET CRATERED.” HE ENDED UP FINDING A JOB IN LETHBRIDGE AND HE STAYED THERE ALL OF HIS LIFE. DRAFFIN SAID HIS DAD WAS “A GOOD PHARMACIST, HE REALLY ENJOYED IT.” GEORGE ESPECIALLY ENJOYED WORKING WITH THE PEOPLE. DRAFFIN WANTED TO BECOME A PHARMACIST BECAUSE HIS DAD WAS A PHARMACIST. HE “WORKED IN THE STORE FROM A YOUNG AGE AND ALWAYS ENJOYED IT.” AT THE AGE OF 11 HE DELIVERED CALENDARS FOR HIS DAD. THEN, AT 13, HE DELIVERED PRESCRIPTIONS ON A BIKE, AS MOST DELIVERIES WERE CLOSE TO THE PHARMACY. HE “THOUGHT IT [PHARMACY] WOULD MAKE A GOOD FUTURE.” HE GRADUATED IN 1962 FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA. “IT WAS A TOUGH PROGRAM. IT WAS A THREE YEAR COURSE WITH A THIRTY-SIX TO FORTY HOUR/WEEK COURSE INCLUDING LABS.” NOW THE PROGRAM HAS CHANGED TO A FIVE YEAR COURSE. HIS FAVORITE PART ABOUT BEING A PHARMACIST WAS WORKING WITH THE PEOPLE AND THE PATIENTS. HE “WASN’T MUCH OF A RESEARCH PERSON.” AT SOME POINT IN DRAFFIN AND GEORGE’S CAREER, GEORGE THOUGHT HIS SON MIGHT MOVE AWAY. TO PREVENT THIS HE BOUGHT THE YORK PHARMACY FROM PETER PISKO IN 1963 TO KEEP DRAFFIN IN TOWN. “A GROUP OF YOUNG PHARMACISTS WERE INTERESTED IN IT AT THE TIME AND WHEN I MENTIONED TO MY FATHER THAT I WAS INTERESTED IN JOINING UP WITH THEM MY FATHER WENT AHEAD AND PURCHASED THE YORK AND ASKED ME TO RUN IT. I DID. HE RAN THE DOWNTOWN STORE AND I WORKED IN THE NORTH STORE (‘TIL 1966) AND THEN MOVED TO WORK IN THE DISPENSARY LOCATED AT THE HAIG CLINIC. HE TOOK OVER THIS SPOT (DISPENSARY – HAIG CLINIC) IN 1968… AT WHICH TIME I THEN PURCHASED THE DOWNTOWN STORE AND LATER THE DISPENSARY.” WHILE THE HAIG CLINIC LOCATION PROVED TO BE BENEFICIAL DUE TO ITS PROXIMITY TO A DOCTOR’S OFFICE, THE NORTH SIDE STORE WAS NOT THE BEST LOCATION. WHILE OPERATING A STORE ON HIS OWN, DRAFFIN “LEARNED A LOT ABOUT THE ECONOMY.” GEORGE DRAFFIN RETIRED IN 1975, AT THE AGE OF 70. ROD DRAFFIN RETIRED IN 2003, AFTER 41 YEARS IN THE PHARMACY BUSINESS. DRAFFIN’S PHARMACY JUST CELEBRATED ITS 80TH YEAR. IT IS NOW OWNED AND OPERATED BY DRAFFIN’S DAUGHTER AND HER HUSBAND – MICHAEL AND CARA RAMSDELL. WHEN DRAFFIN RETIRED, THEY WERE READY TO SET OUT ON THEIR OWN SO THEY PAID HIM OUT FOR THE BUSINESS AFTER A FEW YEARS. DRAFFIN’S PAIRED WITH PHARMASAVE IN 1999. IT IS NOW LOCATED AT 319 5 STREET SOUTH.

Catalogue Number

P19900041000

Acquisition Date

1990-10

Collection

Museum

Less detail