Anyone traveling across South Dakota on the main route to the Black Hills has seen at least a couple of roadside signs advertising Wall Drug. At heart, Wall Drug is a family-run, small town pharmacy. In fact, it's a world-famous roadside attraction and multi-million dollar contributor to South Dakota's tourism industry.
The story of how Wall Drug was established and how it grew begins with Ted and Dorothy Hustead. In 1931, they were a young couple just trying to support themselves and their family in the midst of The Great Depression.
The video clip below tells the story of where Ted and Dorothy came from, how they got together, and how they settled on Wall as their home.
There were some lean years but the Hustead's family business really took off after Ted and Dorothy implemented a simple but incredibily effective marketing strategy. The video clip below tells the story of how that marketing campaign, based on free ice water and clever signage, transformed Wall Drug.
Read Ted Hustead's account of Wall Drug's early days.
See Wall Drug in Google Street View
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Educational Resource: Activity Idea During this activity your students will design a billboard, tweet and Facebook entry that will encourage people to visit a specific location like a town, business, state park, etc. Your students will also learn about Wall Drug and the simple, but incredibly effective marketing strategy that made a small town pharmacy world-famous.