Ernest "Ernie" Prien

Ernest “Ernie” Prien: The Newman Boy Who Made Pioneer Drug His Life’s Work

From bicycle deliveries as a teenager to a successful pharmaceutical career, Ernest Prien’s story is closely intertwined with the history of Pioneer Drug in Newman, California.

Long before Ernest “Ernie” Prien became a successful pharmaceutical businessman and generous benefactor to his hometown, he was a young Newman boy who found his first glimpse of a career behind the counter of a local drugstore. That early experience would shape his future, bringing him back to the same business as a pharmacist and owner, and eventually leading to a career that reached far beyond the West Side.

Prien was born in Newman on September 6, 1913, to John and Bertha Prien. He grew up in the community, attending local schools before graduating from Orestimba Union High School in 1931. His connection to Pioneer Drug began years earlier, during his after-school hours.

A boyhood introduction to the drugstore business

A May 12, 1938, profile in The West Side Index provides a particularly revealing glimpse of Prien’s beginnings. The article recounts how, in 1927, Clarence Parker introduced the young Prien to the atmosphere of the drugstore. The experience made a lasting impression.

Prien began working at Pioneer Rexall Drug Store while still in school. Among his duties was delivering prescriptions to local residents by bicycle—a familiar sight in an era when neighborhood druggists provided personal service and often knew their customers by name.

The 1938 article described how the young Newman native subsequently studied pharmacy in San Francisco and worked for a year in Oakland before being offered a position back at Pioneer Drug. He accepted, the newspaper observed, with the enthusiasm of a country boy who had found city life lonely.

The opportunity was more than a job. It represented a return to the business that had first sparked his interest in pharmacy and introduced him to the profession he would pursue for decades.

From Newman to pharmacy school in San Francisco

Prien’s ambition required a significant investment for a young man from a small agricultural community during the Great Depression. A relative lent him $200, allowing him to attend the University of California’s San Francisco School of Pharmacy.

He graduated in 1934 with his pharmacy degree. Afterward, he worked at an Oakland pharmacy, gaining professional experience before returning to Newman in 1935 to resume his association with Pioneer Rexall Drug Store—this time as a trained pharmacist.

His journey illustrates how an early opportunity, combined with education and determination, could transform a local teenager into a professional with much larger ambitions.

Becoming the owner of Pioneer Rexall Drug Store

In 1941, Prien purchased Pioneer Rexall Drug Store, the very establishment where he had delivered prescriptions as a boy. The store's history extended back to 1888, giving it a place among Newman’s long-standing commercial institutions.

Under Prien’s ownership, Pioneer Drug became the foundation of his business career. He was not content simply to maintain an existing operation. As Newman grew and the needs of its residents changed, he looked for ways to expand the business and make it more useful to the community.

Prien eventually made plans to move the store to the corner of Merced and Main streets, a location he envisioned as a convenient center for local shopping. The idea became known as “Rexall Corner.”

The move is also documented by the historical marker at St. Clair Corner. According to the marker, Prien purchased the building on August 17, 1951, and relocated Pioneer Drug there from the Armistead Building. The building, originally constructed for a hardware business, became an important part of the store’s history.

Prien’s efforts reflected the practical entrepreneurial spirit of a hometown businessman who understood the value of a recognizable location, convenient service and an established relationship with his customers.

Expanding beyond the retail pharmacy

Pioneer Drug was only the beginning of Prien’s business career. In 1948, he and two partners established a wholesale pharmaceutical business to supply drugstores throughout the San Joaquin Valley. The venture grew as the partners recognized opportunities to serve pharmacies on a larger scale.

In 1957, a branch office opened in San Bernardino to serve Southern California. Prien eventually moved there to oversee the operation. The expansion marked a turning point: the young man who once delivered prescriptions by bicycle was now helping manage a growing pharmaceutical distribution enterprise.

In 1958, Prien sold Pioneer Drug, which was then operating in the St. Clair Corner building. Although he had moved on from direct ownership of the Newman pharmacy, his work in the pharmaceutical industry continued. His wholesale enterprise developed into a substantial business, eventually operating nine branches in California and Washington.

The company became known as Synerex Corporation, formerly Digital Information Systems Corporation. Prien served as its founder and chairman before retiring from the business.

His professional achievements earned recognition beyond the local community. His alma mater, UCSF, later honored his contributions, including his support for the university’s School of Pharmacy.

A businessman who remembered where he started

Prien’s accomplishments did not sever his ties to Newman. He maintained connections to the community throughout his life, eventually returning to his hometown in late 2008 after living in places that included Atherton, California, and Zephyr Cove, Nevada.

His return brought him back to familiar surroundings. According to his September 2013 obituary in The West Side Index, he was pleased that his home on Mariposa Street stood in the neighborhood where he had grown up. In later years, he enjoyed sitting on his porch overlooking the grounds of Densmore Park, near the same school grounds where he had spent his youth.

Prien also remained mindful of the assistance that had helped him obtain his education. In December 2000, he contributed $1 million to The Orestimba Scholarship Community Association (TOSCA). The gift established two $500,000 endowments: one for scholarships for college students and graduates pursuing additional degrees, and another to enhance educational programs in the Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District.

His generosity extended to UCSF as well. Following his death, the university received a bequest of approximately $1 million from his estate, designated for the School of Pharmacy. His support helped future generations of students pursue opportunities similar to the one he had received when a relative lent him the money to begin his studies.

Prien also participated in local civic life. A longtime member of the Hills Ferry Masonic Lodge, he was honored with its Golden Award in 2006 after more than 50 years of membership. In 2011, Newman’s Fall Festival Committee named him grand marshal, recognizing his place in the community he had called home for most of his life.

Ernest Prien died on September 1, 2013, just five days before his 100th birthday.

Pioneer Drug’s enduring place in Newman history

The story of Ernest Prien is inseparable from the story of Pioneer Drug. The pharmacy introduced him to his future profession, gave him practical experience as a teenager, and ultimately became the business he purchased and developed before moving into pharmaceutical distribution.

Pioneer Drug has continued to serve the Newman community under later ownership. Today, the pharmacy operates at 1261 Main Street, maintaining its connection to the town’s tradition of locally rooted pharmaceutical service.

For Newman, Prien’s legacy is about more than business success. It is the story of a local boy who found his direction through a neighborhood institution, pursued an education despite limited means, returned home to build a business, and later used his success to help others.

The young prescription carrier of the 1920s could hardly have known where that first opportunity would lead. Yet his career came full circle: from a bicycle delivering medicine to Newman residents, to a pharmacy owner serving the community, to an entrepreneur whose generosity helped educate generations of students.

Pioneer Drug was where Ernest “Ernie” Prien began. The lasting legacy of that beginning reached far beyond the drugstore counter.

Sources and further reading

• The West Side Index, May 12, 1938 — contemporary profile of Ernest Prien, describing his early introduction to drugstore work and his return to Pioneer Drug.

• The West Side Index, September 5, 2013 — Ernest Prien’s obituary, documenting his life, business career and philanthropy.

• UCSF School of Pharmacy — “Update from the Dean,” Spring/Summer 2015 — confirms his pharmacy education, ownership of Pioneer Rexall Drug Store and approximately $1 million bequest to UCSF.

• UCSF — Prien and MacWilliam bequests establish new endowed professorships — additional information about his pharmacy career and legacy.

• Historical Marker Database — St. Clair Corner — records the August 17, 1951, purchase of the building and relocation of Pioneer Drug from the Armistead Building.

• TOSCA Scholarships — About Us — documents his $1 million gift to Newman-area educational programs in 2000.