he drugstore on the corner of State and Orange streets well deserves the appellation of "beautiful." It is forty feet wide and seventy deep, with plate-glass windows for over fifty feet of its frontage, with interior decorations and furnishings of the finest quality; with a wealth of stock replete in every line. Outside of the goods carried by the firm of Gillis & Spoor, over $3,000 has been expended in finishings, and the Arctic soda fountain and accompaniments tells its own tale of beauty at a cost of $3,500. Plush seats, ornate chairs, beveled mirrors all about, gilded and highly finished shelving, artistic hangings, superior showcases, all add to that chaste repose which is pleasing even in its magnificence.

The eye is gratified not only by these surroundings, but also by the fine taste exercised in the display of goods and the intrinsic value and beauty of the articles offered to the public. The toilet department is a gem in itself, a surprise to the novice. Elegant stationery, fine cutlery, expensive purses, choice perfumes, superior articles for the bathroom, and even the drugs themselves are aids in rendering the place exceedingly attractive. These things are not all which are in the store; for in all lines there are the less costly articles, the ordinary goods, which are carried so that every person, whether of large or small means, can have their desires satisfied at this establishment.

The large business of this pharmacy is owned and managed by two men thoroughly educated in their profession. Dr. William L. Spoor is a native of the state of Michigan, where he was born in Vermontville, Eaton county, January 25, 1862. He attended the common and high schools of his birthplace; at the age of 17 entered Oberlin College, where he remained until 1881, and was in Olivet College from 1882 to 1883. He then took up the study of medicine in the office of Dr. P. D. Patterson, of Charlotte, Mich., but shortly afterward became a student in the Medical Department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. In 1885 he transferred his place of study to Long Island Hospital College, from which institution he was graduated in 1886. Returning to his native state he then began practice in Grand Rapids, and was in that city one year before coming to Redlands in April, 1887, when he opened an office in the Union Bank block. He was in practice exclusively until 1890, when he bought an interest in the drug business, which was the immediate precursor of the present establishment. His partnership with Mr. Gillis dates from June 1, 1895. On July 26, 1890, Dr. Spoor was married in this city to Miss Elizabeth R. Wilson, a native of Portland, Maine, and a daughter of J. S. Wilson, a sketch of whose life can be found elsewhere in this book. They have one child, a boy, Wilson Spoor, about 3 years old.

William Templeman Gillis hails from Moneton, New Brunswick, and the date of his birth is September 15, 1860. In the common and high schools of his native country he acquired his early education. At the age of twenty he went to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and entered a drug store to learn the business which he has since followed. In Canada, in the drug business an apprenticeship of three years is required, during which time the would-be druggist must "keep" himself, give his services free, and pay a stated amount yearly. He then is allowed behind the counter, in the dispensing department where he serves four years more gratuitously. Seven years of such service Mr. Gillis went through, and then went to Boston, Mass., where he was, for two years, with a prominent druggist. He then returned to Nova Scotia, graduated from the Nova Scotia Pharmaceutical Society, received his diploma, and then opened in business for himself at Pictou. After three years' experience he came to California, in August, 1887, and, after a short stop in Los Angeles, opened a pharmacy in Santa Monica, where he continued in business, until the partnership was formed with Dr. Spoor as above noted. Mr. Gillis is a registered member of the California State Board of Pharmacy; has taken all the York Rite degrees, including the Mystic Shrine; is and Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias and a Forester. He is secretary and treasurer and one of the most active members of the Redlands Gun Club and has taken a prominent part in promoting legitimate sports in this city, especially those projected and carried out by the Athletic Association.

(Source: Illustrated Redlands, 1897, p. 83)