By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
After 38 years, Roska Pharmacy, 2235 Church St., has closed its doors.
Friday, June 1, was the final day the store was open, as John Roska ended his tenure as a mainstay of Stevens Point's south side business district. The store was the last on the block what had long been a major shopping area on the south side.
Although he's old enough, Roska's not yet ready to retire, though, and will work part-time at the pharmacy in the ShopKo Department Store in CenterPoint MarketPlace in downtown Stevens Point.
Roska knew his customers personally. He greeted them as they entered the door, recognizing them by sight or just by hearing their voices.
"This is probably the most difficult thing for me to do," Roska said as longtime customers streamed in to bid their goodbyes on his last day at the store. Some brought gifts.
"I'm thankful, really to have had a lot of good employees, as well as the best customers." he said. "You're a part of so many lives that you just can't choose to walk away. I don't think that I can put it into words, I'm just so thankful for the spiritual and financial support I've gotten over the years. That, in essence, is what it is."
Roska started working at the store, which had been known as the Taylor Drug Store, in 1963. "It's really sad to say I never changed the inside except adding shelving," he said about the building.
He leaving the store, he said, because he wants to spend more time with his family, his children and grandchildren. "I want to get back to some fishing," he said, "I love bird hunting."
He privately notified customers that he was closing the store so they could transfer their prescriptions to other pharmacies of their choice.
Some of his inventory, such as the drugs, will be transferred elsewhere, and he sold much of the items at the store at a discount.
Roska said he'll miss being a part of the lives of his customers. "When they died, you felt a part of you die. Then there was always someone to take their place. It just feeds you."