FERRIDAY, La. – In the heart of downtown Ferriday, a locally owned pharmacy offers a personal touch in a world of large-scale enterprises.

&uot;(Customers) just don’t come here and get their medicine and go out,&uot; said Judy Vogt, a third-generation pharmacist. &uot;It’s a lot more personalized.&uot;

The business, Concordia&160;Drug Store, has been located on Louisiana Avenue since the 1930s. Vogt and pharmacist Frank Smith now jointly own the business.

Smith said he began working at the pharmacy part-time in 1968 when Glenn Ratcliff owned the business.

As a pharmacist &uot;I enjoy seeing people get well,&uot; Smith said, adding he also enjoys forming relationships with the customers.

After finishing college, he began working at the pharmacy full-time and became an owner in 1993.

Vogt, who says she basically grew up in a drug store, joined the business at that time after previously working for her family’s drug store.

&uot;I like the public – helping the people that come in here and talking with them,&uot; Vogt said. &uot;A lot of these (customers) I’ve known all my life. A lot of them did business with my grandparents.&uot;

Smith agrees the store has a charm you cannot find in a larger establishment.

&uot;I think people feel more relaxed when they come here,&uot; he said.

Some customers who have moved away still like to have their prescriptions filled at the store, Smith and Vogt said.

And people who have moved away often come back to visit.

&uot;They always say things haven’t change and that’s OK with me too,&uot; Vogt said.

Many of the store’s furnishings have been there for years, such as antique sign, which reads &uot;prescriptions&uot; hanging over the main counter.

Vogt said she is often asked why she does not work for a larger business but she has a simple reason for staying with the Concordia Drug Store.

&uot;This is where I’d rather be,&uot; she said. &uot;I can interact with the people — with our patients.&uot;

The Dart is a weekly feature in which a reporter throws a dart at a map and finds a story where it lands.