1978 in Hattiesburg
In 1978, Hattiesburg was a smaller city. The pharmacy landscape was overwhelmingly independent. The idea of a national pharmacy chain absorbing thousands of community pharmacies into a single brand was still mostly theoretical. Most pharmacies in Mississippi were owned by a single pharmacist or a small family group. The pharmacist knew the patients. The patients knew the pharmacist. That was not a marketing claim. That was the baseline of how the industry worked.
Into that landscape came Dr. Kate Winborne and Mr. Larry Winborne, who opened Fairview Pharmacy in Hattiesburg with a clear standard. They were going to be the pharmacy people could call by name. They were going to know their patients’ families. They were going to be open when the community needed them and closed when the community needed them to be. They were going to tell the truth about products, about prescriptions, and about what their patients needed and did not need.
The Winborne standard
I have spent a lot of hours talking to longtime patients who came to Fairview when the Winbornes still owned it and Gladys Barnett ran the counter. The stories overlap in a way that says something important about the brand they built.
Patients tell me about being called by name within a week of their first visit. They tell me about Dr. Kate or Mr. Larry calling them at home to check on a new prescription. They tell me about being told, more than once, that they did not need to buy something that was sitting on the shelf, because the product would not help them and the Winbornes were not in the business of selling people things they did not need.
That is not a marketing legacy. That is a clinical legacy. It is also, frankly, an ethical legacy. It is harder to build than any logo or any tagline, and once it is built, it has to be protected with the same care every day or it dissolves quickly.
What 1978 taught us that 2026 forgot
Modern pharmacy has gained a great deal in forty eight years. Better medications. Better diagnostic tools. Better records. Better data on outcomes. Better support for chronic disease management. All real and all important.
What modern pharmacy has lost is harder to see and equally important. Time. Continuity. Memory. The ability to walk up to a counter and have the pharmacist know who you are without consulting a screen. The ability to call and reach a person who can solve the problem in one phone call instead of three.
Most patients under forty have never experienced what the Winbornes built. They do not know that pharmacy used to feel different. They have been trained by chain pharmacy to expect a certain transactional pace, and they accept it because they have nothing to compare it to.
How the brand evolved without losing its center
Honoring the legacy did not mean freezing the pharmacy in 1978. We have modernized in every way we can without losing the standard. We added medication synchronization. We expanded delivery across Forrest, Lamar, and Jones Counties. We invested in clinical services including vaccinations, point of care testing, and pharmacist consultations that are free and require no appointment.
We also did what the Winbornes would have done. We adapted. They opened in 1978 because community pharmacy was the right model for the moment. We are launching a national over the counter wellness line in 2026 because a pharmacist owned product brand is the right model for this moment. The form changes. The standard does not.
What 48 years of being in one city teaches you
There are some things you only learn by being in one place a long time. I have learned them from the longtime patients who teach me by being honest.
You learn that the families you serve have memories that go back generations. The patient picking up their blood pressure medication today might be the grandchild of the patient the Winbornes counseled forty years ago. The trust the brand carries is multi generational, and so is the responsibility.
You learn that the community will tell you, sometimes loudly and sometimes quietly, when you are drifting from the standard. Patients vote with their feet. Independent pharmacies do not survive forty eight years in one city unless they keep earning their place every week.
You learn that the legacy is fragile. A few bad weeks, a few rushed counter visits, a few prescriptions filled incorrectly, and the trust that took decades to build is at risk. The reward for forty eight years of careful work is that you have to keep doing the careful work.
What to expect as a new patient at Fairview
If you have never been to Fairview, this is what you should expect on a first visit.
- You will be greeted by a person, not a kiosk. We will introduce ourselves.
- We will ask about your medication list, any allergies, and anything else you want us to know.
- If you are transferring a prescription, we will tell you what we need to do on our end and what you can stop worrying about.
- Your pharmacist consultation, if you want one, is free and requires no appointment.
- We will not try to sell you anything you do not need.
- We will tell you, plainly, when something you are taking from another pharmacy could be simplified or improved.
Where the legacy reaches
Fairview serves patients across Hattiesburg, Petal, Oak Grove, Sumrall, Purvis, Lumberton, Ellisville, Laurel, Collins, Columbia, Richton, and across the Pine Belt. Serving Hattiesburg, the Pine Belt, Central Mississippi, and South Mississippi.
This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice. Before starting or changing any medication, including over the counter products and supplements, talk with your pharmacist or physician about your specific situation.