Most of the folks who grew up in Milan, Tennessee, during the 1950’s were familiar with Flippin’s Drugstore which is located on Main Street in the heart of the downtown area.  It was a frequent gathering place for many of us who--just as soon as the three o’clock school bell sounded--made our daily pilgrimage there where we would all crowd around the soda fountain and wait our turn for the fountain employee to take our order.  Roger Mullins, David Mayo, Jerry Taylor, Roy Wilkinson, and Thelma White were among some of those who worked behind the soda fountain during those years.
    Fountain cokes were a nickel in those days, and, if you could spare a few more pennies, the clerk would add a shot of cherry flavoring. Tom’s peanut butter crackers were also a popular item.  If you were really “in the money,” you could buy a chocolate milkshake for a quarter.
     By 3:15 p.m. the place was a den of noise, filled with unending chatter about what was going on at school, who was dating whom, which romances were beginning or ending, who was getting a driver’s license, or how badly we would beat our opponents in the next ball game.  My seventh and eighth grade teacher, Miss Edith Holt, one day laughingly tagged those of us who "hung out" at Flippin's in the afternoons as “Drugstore Cowboys.”
     Those of us who were true devotees to Flippin's Drugstore not only showed up there after three o’clock on school days, but we also went there on Saturdays, between Sunday School and worship service on Sunday mornings, and frequently during those weeks of the summer-break from school.
     In those days there was an area toward the back of the store where there were several small round tables and chairs which resemble those which you find in an ice cream parlor.  Many of us would occupy these tables every afternoon and ramble on and on over fountain drinks, and when the coke was gone we’d eat the ice, even though community dentists like Dr. Bob Denney and Dr. "Bubba" Fields constantly warned us about what chewing ice could do to our teeth and fillings.
     Two friendly and faithful employees who where were always there were Harris Butler and Rachel Myracle.  Between customers they would join in the conversation with us.
     These are only a few of the reasons why Flippin's was more than a drugstore.  For many of us Flippin’s played a vital role in our daily lives.  It was one of the integral factors that helped to define who we were as individuals and as a community of human beings at a certain time and place in history.
     And, finally, I pay a special tribute to Bryant Cunningham who was more than just the proprietor and pharmacist.  As a youngster I came to appreciate him, first of all in our church, because he and his good wife, Pearl, were some of the finest people I ever knew.  She was one of my boyhood Sunday School teachers, and I loved her dearly.  Bryant was one of Dad's close and trusted friends.
    The 1958 Milan High School School Annual, The Bulldog, was dedicated to Mr. Cunningham.  The Dedication Page reads: “To Bryant Cunningham, a former member of the Board of Education of Milan, whose interest and labor for better school facilities for the students of this community, whose services motivated by a progressive spirit and Christian principles have promoted an outstanding achievement in the Milan school system, the staff dedicates the yearbook for 1958.”
    What I wouldn' give to be back there with all the old gang at 3:15 this afternoon.  Even though it's been half a century, if you listen just right you can still hear their voices and laughter.  Somehow the magic of memory brings us all back together in a marvelous moment.  Even though many of these precious friends are no longer physically present, our memory of them and Flippin's Drugstore lives on.  It is all permanently etched into the history of Milan.  (DHL)