In Montgomery, Minnesota?

Montgomery, Minnesota is a small town 24 miles west of the small town where I live. The population is 3,249 and it claims to be the Kolacky Capitol of the world.

Franke’s Bakery made Montgomery’s kolacky’s famous. Click this link for a brief history about the bakery and its famous kolacky’s. 

Montgomery seems to be a fairly active town. It celebrates its Czechoslovakian heritage with Kolacky Days every July. In the downtown area there is an Arts & Heritage Center, Hilltop Hall (a music venue), Pizzeria 201, a restaurant serving delicious pizza and other Italian offerings (but only take-out since 2020) and other small businesses, plus a few churches.

Montgomery’s main street also has an interesting drug store, Herrmann Thrifty White Pharmacy, which was my destination on this particular sunny, summer day. 

Years ago, I discovered a lip balm that I really liked while on vacation on the west coast. I hadn’t been able to find it for years, but came across it on a different vacation and bought another tube. I decided I still really liked it and wanted to find more. At that time, the era of websites and ordering online became doable, so I looked it up on the internet and ordered it online, for several years. 

But now, the shipping charges have become more expensive than the actual product so I decided to look around for the lip balm again, in retail stores…without much luck. So I went back to the their website and found a chart of retail stores where they sell their products…which wasn’t many!

The list was short for retail stores where it is sold in the US (about 56), and only a handful of stores in Minnesota (13). But interestingly, the closest store to me, was Herrmann Thrifty White Pharmacy in Montgomery, MN. What??? 

I have been to Montgomery before, and I enjoy visiting small towns, so taking a road trip 24 miles down the road to find my beloved lip balm was exciting. I wondered if the store would have the “original” lip balm, which I like best.

Well, it did, and a lot of it!  I told the clerk why I was there and she showed me the display. I told her I wouldn’t buy her out but I wanted 4 of the 6. She said she had a lot more in back and brought out a tub, half-full, of the lip balm. I laughed, and bought more. I admit, there was great satisfaction in that moment.

Herrmann Thrifty White Pharmacy (established 1884) serves as more than a drug store. It is a small variety store for the town…with gifts, kitchen supplies, greeting cards, wrapping paper, baby supplies, jewelry, even some clothing and purses. It was a lot fun to spend time in the store looking around at all the variety of wares. I added a few more things to my purchase that day…to “help support this small-town store.”

And, I have to confess…we stopped in at Franke’s Bakery first thing upon arriving in Montgomery, to buy coffee and a pastry (no kolacky for me though). We brought our treat outside, to a nearby picnic table, next to a beautiful church, and enjoyed their grounds on this lovely morning.

Our delightful day trip was fun and interesting in the small town of Montgomery, Minnesota.