WILLIAM P. MEYER. The modern pharmacist is a man of many callings, for his is a vocation that calls for knowledge of various other lines of endeavor, His is a learned profession, necessitating years of study in the sciences of pharmacy and chemistry, and his care and skill in preparing prescriptions are of the most vital importance, while it is doubtful if there are many other callings that ask such long hours of labor, For these and other reasons the druggist is generally numbered among the substantial men of his neighborhood, and to be the proprietor of a successful pharmacy is to have a position of prestige and one that can only be gained through the medium of faithful endeavor and more than usual ability, One of the modern, up-to-date drug businesses of Madison County, is that of Green & Meyer, at Elwood, the junior partner being William P. Meyer, who, although still a young man, has made a place for himself in Elwood’s business circles, He was born in Tarenturn, Pennsylvania, July 6, 1890, and is a son of Frank and Theresa (Wolf) Meyer.
The paternal grandfather of Mr. Meyer, Frank Meyer, was a native of Germany, where he followed the tailor’s trade, and there both he and his wife, Theresa, died at advanced ages, They were the parents or three children: Frank, Anthony and Joseph. On the maternal side, Mr. Meyer’s grandfather was Joseph Wolf, who married Elizabeth Schmierheim, and both spent their entire lives in the Fatherland, where Mr. Wolf carried on agricultural pursuits. They had the following children: John, Fred, Elizabeth, Mary and Theresa.
Frank Meyer, the father of William P. Meyer, was born in Dortmund Province. Germany, and was there reared to manhood and became a glass worker by trade, although he subsequently followed various other occupations, In 1887 he emigrated to the United States, and first settled at Tarentum, Pennsylvania, where he followed his trade, but in 1898 came to Elwood, where he has since been employed as a steel worker, While still a resident of Germany, he served in the regular army of his country, He and his wife are consistent members of the Catholic church. They have had five children John, residing at Jeanette, Pennsylvania; Frank, who lives at Elwood; William P.; Mary, who makes her home at Elwood, and one child who died in infancy.
William P. Meyer attended the parochial school in Tarentum, Pennsylvania, until he was eight years of age, at which time he accompanied his parents to Elwood, Indiana, where he finished his primary schooling and took a high school course. For a short time thereafter he was engaged in keeping books, but eventually became connected with the drug business as a clerk in Green’s pharmacy, where he remained three years, During this time he studied assiduously, and eventually entered the Indianapolis College of Pharmacy, from which he was graduated a registered pharmacist, On October 5, 1911, he formed a partnership with his former employer, Mr. Green, and since that time the firm, style has been Green & Meyer, with Mr. Meyer as manager. The business of the store has shown a gratifying increase and much of this is due to the progressive ideas, improved methods and personal popularity of the junior member of the firm, who has been able to attract to the establishment a new line of trade, He is courteous and obliging, is thoroughly conversant with every detail of the business and with every piece of stock in the store, and is familiar with his customers’ needs and caters to them, The stock is new, fresh and well selected, and Mr. Meyer has been able to display it in a most advantageous manner.
Mr. Meyer is a member of the Catholic Church. His fraternal connections are with the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, His political proclivities make him a Democrat, but he has been too busy with the management of his business affairs to think of entering the public arena.