P. A. Hayes Family Papers

NOTE:  The numbers cited in parentheses, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The P.A. Hayes Family Papers consist primarily of materials relating to Justice Drug Company and also include information about the Hayes family. P.A. Hayes worked for Justice Drug for fifty-five years, serving as president for thirty-seven years and then as chairman of the Board. The collection includes correspondence, photo albums, financial and legal documents, printed materials and several scrapbooks. Researchers interested in Greensboro history, the history of Justice Drug Company or the Hayes family will find this collection useful.

Arrangement: This collection is organized into seven series and arranged within series by document type and/or subject. The series are: 50th Anniversary with Justice Drug, 1953; Correspondence, 1935-1984; Financial & Legal, 1927-1961; Miscellaneous, ca 1930s-1950s; Photographs, 1958, n.d.; Printed Materials, 1868-1985; and Scrapbooks, 1906-1955.

Provenance: This collection was donated by Virginia Hayes Forrest in August 1986 and assigned accession number 1986.101. In January 1993, she added the materials relating to Vick Chemical Co. (6:7-9). Her final donation in March 1993 included two photo albums relating to Justice Drug (5:1-2); these items were assigned accession numbers 1993.16.1-2.

Processing: This collection was organized and the finding aid was prepared by intern Hannah Hemphill in July 2017.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Pearly Arthur “P.A.” Hayes (1882-1963) of 405 Meadowbrook Terrace was born to Mary Catherine (1855-1930) and Eli P. “E.P.” Hayes (1856-1931) in Randleman, NC. Upon his graduation from Guilford College in 1903, he went to work as an order clerk at L. Richardson Drug Company, which became Justice Drug Company when it was sold to R.L. Justice in 1905. The company was an important regional drug wholesaler. After purchasing a controlling interest in Justice Drug, Hayes became president in 1921 and held that position until 1958, when he was appointed chairman of the Board. He was president of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce in 1929, the Greensboro Rotary Club in 1942, the Traveling Men’s Auxiliary of the NC Pharmaceutical Association in 1934, and the National Wholesale Druggists Association in 1940. He also served as a City Council member and mayor pro tem in 1931.

In 1913, Hayes married Virginia Townsend (1890-1973). Born to Emma Elizabeth (1852-1932) and Christopher Columbus “C.C.” Townsend (1849-1929), Virginia Townsend Hayes was originally from Burlington but lived most of her life in Greensboro. She was an alumna of the State Normal and Industrial College (later Woman’s College and then UNC Greensboro), a president of the Greensboro Drug Club Auxiliary, and a member of the Women’s Auxiliary of the NC Pharmaceutical Association.

Mr. and Mrs. Hayes had two daughters. The eldest, Virginia Hayes Forrest (1919-2015), attended Mary Baldwin College before obtaining a Master of Arts in Drama from UNC Chapel Hill in 1942. She married Lt. Stephen Taylor Forrest (1919-1978) in 1942, and they had three children: Stephen Taylor Forrest Jr., Hayes Forrest and Beverly Forrest Kehayes. Mrs. Forrest participated in the Junior League, Children’s Theatre, Greensboro Drug Auxiliary and the NC Pharmaceutical Auxiliary. She also served as president and vice president on the Board of the Greensboro Historical Museum. Her husband, Stephen Forrest, worked at Justice Drug Company after World War II, eventually serving as president for fifteen years.

Her younger sister, Anne Hayes Brewer Davis (1921-2015), also attended Mary Baldwin College. She married William “Bill” Paul Brewer Sr. (1921-1987) in 1943, and they had three children: Paul, Michael and David H. She taught school before having children and afterwards worked part-time as a psychometrist with UNCG. After the death of her first husband, she married John Lorraine Davis (1916-2013) in 1999. She was active in the Greensboro Junior League and the Greensboro Cotillion, was a charter member of the NC Historical Book Club, and served as a president of NC Pharmaceutical Wives.

Biographical Sources: The sources for this biographical note include the obituaries of P.A. Hayes (Greensboro Daily News, November 21, 1963) and Virginia Townsend Hayes (Greensboro Daily News, November 14, 1973), as well as those of Virginia Hayes Forrest (News & Record, January 30, 2015) and Anne Hayes Brewer Davis (News & Record, January 11, 2015). Additional information was obtained from Ancestry.com, the Greensboro city directories, the Guilford County Register of Deeds database and materials in the collection.

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

Types of materials in this collection include correspondence, financial and legal documents, photographs, printed materials, LP recordings and scrapbooks. Most materials highlight P.A. Hayes’ career with Justice Drug. Of note are two photo albums depicting Justice Drug construction and employees (5:1-2), as well as an invoice from WFMY-TV for commercial spots (3:1). Also included are a few pieces of Justice Drug letterhead (2:2, 4:2), drug formulas (4:1-3) and an insert from the Greensboro Beacon about local businesses (6:3). The scrapbooks give insight to the Hayes family’s social and professional accomplishments (7:1-4). Of particular interest is Mrs. Hayes’ scrapbook from her time at the State Normal and Industrial College (7:5).

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. 50th Anniversary with Justice Drug.  7 folders (ca. 40 items).  1953.

Materials in this series relate to P.A. Hayes’ Golden Anniversary with Justice Drug Company. Correspondence (1:1-2) and a scrapbook (1:7) contain letters from associates congratulating him on his fifty years with the company. The photographs (1:3), LP records (1:6) and printed materials (1:4-5) detail the 50th Anniversary banquet held in his honor.

2. Correspondence.  6 folders (ca. 90 items).  1935-1984.

The majority of the correspondence was sent from wholesale manufacturers to Justice Drug Company about products and contracts (2:4-6). Letters from P.A. Hayes, including two on company letterhead, show how he conducted business (2:2), while a letter from William Brewer discusses the sale of a desk with company history (2:1). Also included is a postcard to Carlos Virgil Cagle, a pharmacist for Justice Drug (2:3).

3. Financial & Legal.  2 folders (18 items).  1927-1961.

This series contains Justice Drug contracts with wholesale manufacturers (3:2) and an invoice from WFMY-TV (3:1) for commercial spots purchased by the company. The invoice includes the times and costs of the commercials.

4. Miscellaneous.  4 folders (ca. 25 items).  ca. 1930s-1950s.

The miscellaneous items consist of formulas and personnel forms. The Justice Drug formulas are contained in two notebooks and on several loose pages, some of which are Justice Drug letterhead (4:2-3). Other formulas were recorded on the prescription pads of Dr. John Wesley Long, Dr. S.P. Sebastian and the O.Henry Drug Store, while a recipe for cigar flavoring is on Carolina Cigar Company letterhead (4:1). The blank personnel forms from Justice Drug Company include job applications, termination records, and annual performance reviews that provide insight into employee evaluation (1946-1947; 4:4).

5. Photographs.  2 folders (2 items).  1958, n.d.

One of these photo albums shows the 1958 construction of a new Justice Drug building at 1201 Valley Park Drive (later Coliseum Blvd.; 5:1). The second album contains portraits of the company’s employees at their work locations (5:2).

6. Printed Materials.  10 folders (ca. 35 items).  1868-1985.

Materials in this series are a mix of family and business items. Family items include a geography book that belonged to C.C. Townsend (1868; 6:2), and poems and prayers by P.A. Hayes’ mother, Mary Catherine Hayes (1917-1930; 6:5). The business aspect is represented by advertisements for office equipment and medicine (6:1), wholesale price schedules (6:10), and an article about P.A. Hayes and Justice Drug in the Greensboro Beacon (6:3). Also of interest are a piece of letterhead from Nanzetta Medicine Company (6:6) and items relating to Vick Chemical Company, including an early issue of Vicks Family News (1938; 6:9), two newspaper clippings (1960, 1965; 6:7) and a term paper by Martin Boney (1985; 6:8).

7. Scrapbooks.  5 folders (6 items).  1906-1955.

The majority of the scrapbooks relate to the Hayes family and show how family and business were closely intertwined. Compiled by Mrs. Hayes and covering 1929-1955, these scrapbooks consist mostly of newspaper clippings about family and friends, as well as holiday cards (7:1-4). All of the scrapbooks contain articles about Justice Drug and Mr. Hayes’ career with the company. Items of note in the first scrapbook include newspaper clippings about P.A. Hayes’ election to the Greensboro Rotary Club (1942) and Chamber of Commerce (1929), and a photograph of the Hayes maid, probably Virginia Crutchfield (7:1).

Two scrapbooks (7:2,4) include information about the Hayes daughters’ marriages. The two large brown scrapbooks (7:3) also have newspaper clippings about Virginia and Anne’s children. Of particular interest are news clippings about the Justice Drug Company fire in July 1953. A copy of C.C. Townsend’s will (1921) is also present.

The final scrapbook (7:5) depicts Mrs. Hayes’ years at the State Normal and Industrial College. This scrapbook, which mostly consists of photographs, shows President J.J. Foust, faculty and students. Other photographs include the Spencer building and Mrs. Hayes’ room, and the Greensboro Centennial celebrations in 1908. Some programs from plays and ceremonies and Mrs. Hayes’ own musings are also included.

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