“We started it in 1963 with my mom, my dad and myself,” owner and pharmacist John Daniel II said during a 60th anniversary celebration on Thursday afternoon.

The milestone was marked with a ribbon cutting with the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance and an open house.

“It’s a real honor to congratulate you on 60 years in the Fort Dodge community,” said Craig Schlienz, a Growth Alliance ambassador from Availa Bank. “It’s been such a blessing to have this wonderful family-owned pharmacy here and all the commitments you’ve made to the community of Fort Dodge, your support for the school systems and everything you do for the community, it’s just a real blessing.”

Daniel and his parents, John I and Renee, opened the pharmacy in May 1963 and it’s been a family-run operation ever since. John Daniel II became sole owner in 1973 and today, he runs the business with his wife Margo, son John Daniel III and daughter Mary Kay.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Fort Dodge Mayor Matt Bemrich presented John Daniel II with a proclamation honoring Daniel Pharmacy's 60th anniversary on Thursday, declaring Dec. 14 "Daniel Pharmacy Day" in Fort Dodge.

“There’s no two hard-working people in Fort Dodge than John and Margo Daniel,” Schlienz said.

As the only family-owned pharmacy in Fort Dodge, there’s a fourth prong to Daniel Pharmacy’s business philosophy: caring.

“If you want to be a community pharmacy, you have to care about your people, care about your community and we’ve tried to do that,” John Daniel II said. “One of the things that make this so much of an enjoyment is people come back over the years and say ‘When I was a little kid, I rode down here and got candy’ or they drive by and say ‘I still see your neon lights.'”

In 60 years, Daniel Pharmacy has had three generations of customers and two generations of pharmacists.

“When you’re part of the community, you just kind of feel like you treat everyone like family — you take the time to care and you get to know them by name,” said John Daniel III.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
A Messenger article from May 1963 invited the public to the grand opening for Daniel Pharmacy.

John Daniel II recalled that back when his sister Joan taught at the Pleasant Valley school, she’d send her students with their school supply lists to get what they needed at Daniel Pharmacy.

Running a pharmacy in 2023 looks a lot different than it did when Daniel Pharmacy opened its doors in May 1963.

“One constant we had through all those years was adaptation to change,” John Daniel II said. “We started out with typewriters, then it was computers, cash registers and then we went to point-of-sale. Now we have e-scribing and immunizations and things like that.”

To further commemorate the 60th anniversary of the business, Fort Dodge Mayor Matt Bemrich read a proclamation declaring Dec. 14 as “Daniel Pharmacy Day.”

The Daniels have received several accolades in recent years. In 2022, John II and Margo were named grand marshals of the Frontier Days Parade and earlier this year, John II received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
An ad from The Messenger celebrates the third anniversary of Daniel Pharmacy in 1966.

“We’ve gotten a lot of recognition in the last couple years that we just never expected,” John Daniel II said. “It’s made it all worthwhile.”