Town Hall Pharmacy’s Miss Gwen Says

She was a minor celebrity – working the cosmetic counter of Town Hall Pharmacy for more than 20 years. If you were a teenage girl in the 1970s or early 1980s, your mom probably brought you to Miss Gwen to figure out your colors.

If you had an acne breakout, you sought Miss Gwen’s advice. Even Robert Goulet got Miss Gwen to help him find eyeliner for his beautiful blue eyes. She was that good.

“I loved my job,” admits Miss Gwen, aka Gudrun Boncoddo (and my grandmother). “I had the satisfaction of making people happy.”

Miss Gwen spent her tenure at Town Hall Pharmacy, which was in the Stop & Shop shopping plaza on Quality Street, giving people advice on good colors and keeping their skin clean. 

Miss Gwen’s advice became so revered that she made regular appearances on the radio station 91.1 FM and was featured in the local newspaper with a corner, “Miss Gwen Says.”

My own memories of that time are filled with wonderful smells, intriguing bottles, fascinating displays, and astonishing samples. My grandfather, who babysat me after kindergarten each day, would often bring me to Town Hall for a chocolate chip cookie at the bakery next store, and then to visit my grandmother at work.

Steve Krushack owned the pharmacy at the time, back when a traditional diner occupied the same storefront. My Aunt Kathy worked the counter at that dinner.

“It was a fine location,” my grandmother remembers. “It’s so completely different now.”

These days Miss Gwen is retired in Monroe. Beauty, cosmetics and skin care continue to be important to her, though I’m sure she wishes there were more girls in the family to practice her skills on. Instead, she has to lavish her affections on four great grandsons.

What’s her advice today? Miss Gwen says, “Keep your skin clean and moisturize with a light moisturizer that won’t clog your pores. The secret is not to clog your pores. That goes for any type of skin.”