Binnie Turnage: Prescribing More Than Medicine
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A morning devotional has been held for decades at Turnage Drug Store.
By Ella Rossi
Special To The Herald
WATER VALLEY – Six mornings out of the week since 1972, pharmacist Binnie Turnage has led a prayer group before starting his workday. Open to all coworkers and community members, Turnage has created a daily space for camaraderie and devotion, starting his day ministering to others through the Word before ministering through medicine.
Where this prayer group gathers – Turnage Drug Store, a family-owned business open since 1905. Tucked away in the back corner of the store is the pharmacy where Binnie Turnage logged years behind the counter. Filling prescriptions or manning the register has been part of his daily duties, but the real way Turnage seeks to work is through his faith.
“We don’t have a clue what’s going to happen in a day. So we need to turn it all over to Him. We need to be ready for every opportunity that comes our way. So, be kind to one another, help each other, be available to others, and be faithful,” said Turnage, touching on the importance of starting the day with fellowship.
This sense of uncertainty each day does not cause Turnage’s faith to falter, rather, it strengthens it. In fact, this very notion is what brought Turnage closer to the Lord and started his path of spiritual service. At just 23 months old, Turnage’s second child, Karen, passed away after a battle with cancer.
“For four months we watched her die, and I held her hand as she took her last breath,” said Turnage. He continued, “My first thought was I’ll never see her again, I’ll never have my sweet daughter by my bed in the morning. And then, for some reason I thought of a bible story about King David.”
The bible story follows King David after he loses his young son. In the story, King David notes that although he can’t bring his son back, he can one day be with him again.
With this story as motivation, Turnage moved to further pursue his faith and create a better community for all residents of Water Valley. The prayer group started soon after Karen’s passing as a result.
Regular attendees of the group all note Turnage’s authenticity and his knack to seek them out when they need it most.
“He’s the most sincere person about his religion than anybody that I know, more so than any preacher I know,” said Charles Sharp, a longtime friend of Turnage and daily visitor to the drug store. Billy Flippin, who has been a prayer group regular since 1987 agreed.
“He recruited me at the drug store one morning. He just came up and told me we need a plumber in Nicaragua. Now we go on a mission trip once a year.”
And this sense of service and outreach does not just stop at the morning prayer group.
“I want people to remember our purpose which is to serve the Lord and serve the people,” said Turnage, noting how the drugstore uses faith to guide their work all day, every day.
Turnage Drug Store has been a helping hand to the people of Water Valley for over 100 years. Opened by Turnage’s grandfather, Wade Smith Turnage, the store has remained in the family ever since.
Turnage is a third generation pharmacist who graduated from Ole Miss Patterson School of Pharmacy in 1962, following the graduations of his father and grandfather in earlier years. His son Bobby graduated in 1999, continuing the family legacy and working at the Turnage pharmacy.
The store places a large emphasis on faith, family values, and preservation of history, differentiating themselves from the competition of large retail pharmacies. Turnage believes the store’s locality is what gives them the chance to better serve their community and the Lord. However, being a small business does come with its share of obstacles and, like Turnage previously noted, uncertainty of what will happen in a day.
Recently, the high cost of insurance and other financial stressors that come from running a small business have placed a large burden on Turnage Drug Store. “We’ve been through tough times before, and we’re going through one again,” said Turnage.
These difficulties make Turnage hesitant to talk about the future of his family’s store, but not fearful, confident in the Lord’s plan. Yet despite these financial challenges, he is still not discouraged from doing the right thing and continuing to cater to the needs of others.
“If we have the opportunity to do something right, and not for the money, that’s what we’re going to do,” he said.
This is not just a line he uses, but a reality he lives out. Early one morning, Turnage recalls a regular coming in to pick up a prescription for her baby that had been at the emergency room the night before and crying all night. The next time the mother was back in the store she told Turnage he had fussed at her the last time she was in.
“You made your baby suffer all night. You should’ve called me. Don’t you let that baby suffer all night again, you call me and I’ll come get it anytime. That’s how I fussed at her,” said Turnage.
When thinking about how to serve others, Turnage considers how he would want his own child to be treated and the love God has shown him. His careful tending to those around him reflects these principles clearly. On another occasion in the store, Turnage was behind the pharmacy counter when an old friend he had known for years came in. Turnage suddenly felt compelled to comfort her, considering the fact that you never know what is going on in someone’s life.
“I just looked at her and said, I want you to know that God loves you and I love you. She started crying immediately. I ran out there to give her a hug. She then told me she had lost her momma that morning.”
From the back corner of Turnage Drug Store, Binnie Turnage is able to touch the hearts of all that enter through the old front doors. Whether a store patron or a new customer, he greets everyone with kindness and warmth. He is quick to love and slow to anger, with a spiritual manner that’s almost indescribable. But if it had to be put into words, Flippin does it simply.
“There’s nobody with a better heart than Binnie Turnage, he’s just that type of person. He cares about everybody.”
As the nation continues to steer away from the foundations of faith, a large concern for Turnage, what the future holds for Turnage Drug Store is unclear. Nevertheless, the residents of Water Valley will always be able to depend on the generosity of Binnie Turnage.
“If we really pay attention, every person we meet is just like us. They’re a person God created, died for, and loves. I want to treat them the same.”
