By Carol Mowdy Bond
Contributing Writer
Krittenbrink Pharmacy, located at 315 W. Kansas Avenue in Okarche, has a new drive-thru window.
Owner Brian Schieber said he added the new window for the sake of convenience, so people don’t have to leave their cars to pick up their prescriptions. As well, the window gives clients the option of social distancing to pick up their prescriptions.
Schieber said, “We added onto the building, and opened the new drive-thru window about November of last year. Before we had the window, we were doing a bit of curb-side delivery. But this is more convenient. It’s a lot easier for a lot of people.”
Krittenbrink Pharmacy currently has three pharmacists: Anna Kroener, former owner Steve Krittenbrink who works part time, and Schieber’s wife Amber Schieber.
“We bought Krittenbrink Pharmacy because Amber is a pharmacist,” Brian Schieber said.
“We’re an independent pharmacy. We’re trying, just like the Hackneys, to continue the tradition and take care of Okarche, just like Merv and Steve did. We kept the Krittenbrink name as an honor to him for all the years he took care of people.”
“The clinic was originally known as the Okarche Medical Clinic, and the building is still known as ‘The Clinic Building,’” Brian Schieber said.
“We’ve owned the pharmacy for six years now,” Brian Schieber said. “And we appreciate all the business our customers have given us through the years. We encourage people to shop local. Shopping local helps everybody in many ways.”
Brian Schieber, who has been senior vice president of The First Bank of Okarche for 25 years, and his wife Amber Schieber, who has a pharmacy degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, bought Krittenbrink Pharmacy from Steve Krittenbrink in 2015. Krittenbrink previously bought the pharmacy from Koleata and Merv Hackney. The Hackneys originally established the pharmacy in 1966, inside the Okarche Medical Clinic building, where Krittenbrink Pharmacy remains today.
Brian Schieber has lived in Okarche his entire life. Okarche has been Amber Schieber’s home since 1994, when she moved to town with her family. Her dad, Ray West, was the iconic Okarche High School basketball coach of 25 years, who took the Warriors to state tournaments 11 times.
In 1966, Merv Hackney and his wife Koleata opened Hackney Pharmacy inside the Okarche Medical Clinic. Hackney was the pharmacist and Koleata Hackney was the bookkeeper. Both born and raised in Roosevelt, Kiowa County, Hackney graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in 1960 with a pharmacy degree.
In the early 1980s, the Hackneys sold Hackney Pharmacy to Steve Krittenbrink, who created Krittenbrink Pharmacy. In 2015, Krittenbrink sold the pharmacy to Amber and Brian Schieber, who kept the Krittenbrink name.
To connect with Krittenbrink Pharmacy call (405) 263-4433.
