Nancy Ward

Two-wheeled Special Deliveries
 
​Customer service has always been a hallmark of the  downtown Greensboro merchants. In the days when life moved at a slower pace, customers would regularly call their favorite merchant, place an order, and have their goods delivered right to their door. This common service had a special meaning to the clients of Moore’s Pharmacy, whose business once occupied this historic building.
 
Moore’s employed Nancy Ward, Greensboro’s most famous delivery man, who was known to “talk the warts off a body”. Nancy did not need horse or automobile, for he rode a bicycle expertly around the city to deliver all types of goods.
 
One of Moore’s Drug’s most notable products was a tonic favored by several ladies of the town.  On hot and steamy days when they were feeling a bit faint or just in need of a quick pick-me-up, the ladies made a phone call to Moore’s. The request was for Nancy to deliver an “Ammonia Cola” right to their door. The pharmacist would whip up the tonic and Nancy would put the frosty glass on a tray and hop on his bicycle. He would masterfully steer one-handed to the home of the customer, holding the tray aloft, like a waiter in a fine New York restaurant. Nancy would wait while the lady of the house drank her refresher and then return tray & glass to Moore’s, ready for his next assignment.