Dr. Wells – a pepper-style soda – was introduced in 1935 to compete against Dr. Pepper and its many imitators. Developed by Ludford Fruit Products of Los Angeles, California, which was also the national headquarters for Alka-Time and Hollywood Beverages. Early slogans included: “Always Drink Dr. Wells” “It Picks You Up” “The Cooler Doctor” Dr.

Squirt is a carbonated grapefruit drink created by Herb Bishop in 1938. Bishop’s intention was to make a soft drink that required less fruit and sugar than other sodas, due to the Great Depression. He started with a soft drink by the name of Citrus Club that was bottled in Phoenix, Arizona (which was quite

The Pequot Water Company was a soda and spring water bottling company where I grew up in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Pequot soda came in a long list of flavors, like orange, root beer, and lemon-lime. Trucks came directly to our door to deliver the specific flavors my mother had ordered. The glass bottles with a cork-lined

“You’ll Love It!” Frostie Old Fashion Root Beer was introduced in Catonsville, Maryland in 1939. The president of The Frostie Company was George Rackensperger, who rented an abandoned jailhouse outside Baltimore in which to start his soft drink bottling operation. According to the story, the bottling equipment was placed in the garage that had housed

“Taste the Difference” The Buffalo Rock Company was started 1901 when the owner of the Alabama Grocery Company, Sid Lee, and a local chemist invented Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale. Their intent had been to create a tonic using ginger that would relieve stomach ailments, but instead they developed a drink that when drunk cold, was

Fanta: The Humble Beginnings of a Worldwide Phenomenon There have been all kinds of stories about Fanta’s creation in Nazi Germany during WWII. Some of what has been said is true— a great deal is fiction. Prior to the breakout of the war, Germany was the location of The Coca-Cola Company’s greatest overseas success. Records

Invented by John Stith Pemberton in 1886, Coca-Cola was meant as a drink to impart good health and stamina. Pemberton was a pharmacist from Columbus, Georgia who originally made a cocawine called Pemberton’s French Wine Coca in 1885. When prohibition laws were passed within his county, Pemberton set out to make a new, non-alcoholic drink.

Back when we were in the restoration business the items we restored most were soda machines. The model we restored most often was the Coca-Cola Vendo 81. The reasons that made it our best seller are the same reasons you should consider it if you are planning on spending the time and money to restore