Soda Fountains – An American Icon by Linda Hoover

                                                     

When you think of a soda fountain, you might also think of the TV show Happy Days. The fifties were actually the end of the soda fountain golden age. My novella, Heart of Grace, is set in 1890, which, according to one source I read, is considered the beginning of the golden age. At that time, you’d find them in drug stores because the pharmacists promoted the drinks as medicinal. I took a deep dive into the history to see when it became a good idea to drink carbonated water, and was surprised to learn that as far back as 43 AD, people were going to Bath in England to drink or immerse themselves in the mineral waters there.


Fast forward to 1621, and you learn that the British are credited with being the first to bottle water and sell it. A resurgence in visiting spas and undergoing water therapy emerged among Europeans and American colonists in the 17th and 18th centuries. As early as 1767, Americans could purchase bottled water at a spa in Boston. In 1807, Henry Thompson received a patent for a method of infusing water with carbon dioxide. It was commonly called soda water even though it had no sodium carbonate in it.

Soda fountains began in Europe but had their biggest success in the U.S., where a Yale chemistry professor, among others, introduced Americans to soda water. He did such a brisk business in New Haven, CT, that he made bigger fountains and hired help. It didn’t take long for more businessmen to open shops in cities like New York and Philadelphia. Over time, fountains improved, and flavor was added to the water. In the beginning, soda fountains were found primarily in drug stores because pharmacists promoted the drinks as a medicinal. Later, they could be found in ice cream parlors, candy stores, and other locations where people gathered.

Root beer was the first syrup-based soda invented by a pharmacist, with Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, and Pepsi coming along later. Different fruit syrups were added to the carbonated water, which made them more popular, but when chemists discovered that the addition of acid phosphates gave the drinks a tangy taste that was what people wanted. A few of the flavors they used were cherry, lemon, orange, pineapple, and chocolate. The drink was even better with a scoop of ice cream.

Even in the late 1800s and early 1900s, businessmen were keeping statistics and making marketing plans. They deduced that the phosphate drinks appealed more to the masculine population, while the feminine side preferred dairy-based drinks. My heroine in Heart of Grace introduces the hero to his first ice cream float, and he’s hooked. Something that appealed to both of them. An interesting side note is their take on a milkshake. To begin with, they put ice cream and milk in a container and shook it. That defines a milkshake, but I have to say I prefer the way it’s done now.

Linda lives in west central Ohio with her husband and grandson. She earned a degree in psychology from Anderson University, where she learned that the voices in her head were actually characters from stories waiting to be told.

Linda has been writing since childhood, but her publishing career started with writing columns and a middle-grade serial for the South Charleston Spectator. A retired librarian, she now enjoys being a full-time author in her home office. She writes not only to entertain but to encourage readers with God’s faithfulness.


Please visit her website, Linda Hoover Books, to learn more about her and her books. You can stay in touch when you subscribe to her newsletter, and as a thank you, you’ll receive a novella, Joel & Ella.

https://www.lindahooverbooks.com

This link will take you to all the places you can find Linda on the web: https://linktr.ee/lindahooverbooks

As children, Adam Johnson wanted nothing to do with Lydia Bailey. When they meet again as adults, Adam’s opinion hasn’t changed. In the years apart, circumstances have caused Lydia’s faith to waver. It will take a touch from God to heal their hearts and open their eyes to see each other for who they are.



Heart of Grace can be purchased here: http://amazon.com/dp/B0DDJ59BD8

 

Time for a Break . . . Have a Coca Cola

Coca Cola: It's the Real Thing 

by Martha Rogers

I don't imagine there are many people in the United States or even in the world who haven't heard of Coca Cola. A lot of people call any kind of soda in a bottle or a can Coke, but there is only one true Coke and that's Coca Cola which has been around since 1885 and began as a nerve tonic to help overcome a drug addiction.

A Confederate Colonel, John Pemberton had been wounded in the Civil War and became addicted to heroine. He had a medical degree and begin research into a way to combat his addiction. He owned a drugstore, Pemberton's Eagle Drug and Chemical House in Columbus, Georgia. He registered a nerve tonic, Pemberton's French Wine Coca, and introduced it at his store. He may have been inspired in his research by a French-Corsican coca wine to which he added the African kola nut as a source of caffeine. 

A year later, in 1886, Atlanta and Fulton County passed prohibition legislation. Pemberton promptly marketed a non-alcoholic version of his "Coca-Cola:The Temperance Drink" which appealed to many who chose it as their drink of choice during the prohibition. It sold at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia on May 8, 1886 for five cents a glass.

Since soda fountains were already popular because of the belief that carbonated water was good for the health, Pemberton's new drink could be marketed and sold as a patent medicine. Pemberton claimed it to be a cure for morphine addiction, indigestion, nerve disorders, and headaches among other things.

Here's a picture of a fountain dispenser at Fleeman's Pharmacy in Atlanta in 1948 and was called "Boat Motor" because of its resemblance to a boat motor. 

Three versions of Coca-Cola emerged and were sold by three separate businesses. Four business men joined with Pemberton to form a co-partnership and combined versions to come up with one. No papers were signed as it was a verbal arrangement. This allowed Asa Candler to acquire a stake in the company in 1887. John Pemberton declared that the name "Coca-Cola" belonged to his son, Charley, but others could use the formula.

Several years of going back and forth with the formula and ownership as new companies formed until, in 1888, Dr. Pemberton died with his remaining shares being sold to Asa Candler. Shortly thereafter, he brought back all the remaining interests to gain complete control of the company. A few years later in July of 1894, Charley Pemberton also died, leaving control to Asa Candler who had already officially formed the Coca Cola company in 1892, six years after the first drink was created.



For many years Candler was content with merely selling the syrup to bottling

companies by contract. However, legal problems plagued the company for years bottlers subcontracted to other companies. The contract specified that the bottles would be sold for 5 cents each with no duration. This led to the fixed price from 1886 to 1959. 

Advertising began promoting the drink and in 1894, the first outdoor sign appeared in Cartersville, Georgia. The syrup was even sold over the counter as a remedy for upset stomach. Here is an example of an early ad.

Coupons were distributed for free Coca Cola as an advertising ploy to promote the drink in the 19th century

 By the time of its 50th anniversary, Coca-Cola had become a national icon. It was even declared kosher and certified by Atlanta Rabbi Tobia Geffen who was the first person to see the top-secret ingredient list. Then the company made minor changes so it would be accepted by the American Jewish population.

Here is a picture of the original framed Coca-Cola artist's graphic. It was presented to Charles Howard Candler on July 12, 1944 when Coca-Cola celebrated the sale of the "1 Billionth Gallon of Coca Cola" Syrup.







In 1931, the company commission Haddon Sundblom to

paint a picture of Santa Claus with a Coca-Cola in his hand. Santa then became related to Coke products and have been shown all over the world. Other ads have featured a variety of people and subjects from polar bears to start athletes to movie stars.






Many of us may remember all the controversy surrounding the company's attempt to introduce the "New Coke" and what a tremendous failure it was as consumers didn't want any meddling with the tried and true. Today it is available in a variety of flavors from Coke Zero to Cherry flavored and caffeine free. In addition Coca Cola offers all kinds of drink like water, tea, and other carbonated drinks with 500 brands and 3,900 beverage choices.

Coca Cola Museum in Las Vegas  

Coca Cola products are now sold in almost every single country in the world, and from its humble beginnings as a medical remedy for addiction and various ailments, its grown to the largest drink company in the world and one of 50 largest companies. 

If you had bought just one share of Coca Cola stock when it was IPO'd in 1919 and held it it, you would now have 9,216 shares after 11 stock splits. Those shares would now be worth than $400,000. Not a bad investment. 

What is your favorite soft drink, soda, pop or whatever you may call it in your part of the country? If you'll leave your email address, you will be eligible for the drawing of the novella described below. 

It's September so can Christmas be far behind? A Gift of Love is now available.

Cherie Kenton came home to Edenville to become business manager of her aunt’s floral shop. Although the town held bad memories for her, the object of that memory didn’t live there anymore. Then, Troy McNeil moved home to partner with his father in his law firm, and his office sat directly across the street from the floral shop. Ten years of the memory of how he humiliated her at their prom has built a wall around Cherie’s heart. It’s a wall Troy is determined to tear down and win back the trust and love of the only girl he has ever truly loved. Will his one selfish mistake as a teenager ruin their chances of ever finding happiness, or will this be the Christmas for the gift of love to reunite their hearts?

Martha Rogers is a free-lance writer and multi-published author from Realms Fiction of Charisma Media and Winged Publications. She was named Writer of the Year at the Texas Christian Writers Conference in 2009. She is a member of ACFW and writes the weekly Verse of the Week for the ACFW Loop. ACFW awarded her the Volunteer of the Year in 2014. Her first electronic series from Winged Publications, Love in the Bayou City of Texas, debuted in the spring of 2015.  Martha is a frequent speaker for writing workshops and the Texas Christian Writers Conference. She is a retired teacher and lives in Houston with her husband, Rex. Their favorite pastime is spending time with their twelve grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. 

Pharmacists in Early 20th Century in America and a Giveaway!

Walking through the Detroit Historical Museum many years ago with my kids I loved the underground timeline of a main street through history, including shop fronts. When you get to the brick-paved area it includes a drug store with two old-fashioned show globes hanging in the window and historical products displayed. Something about it intrigued me. 

When I heard the story about my father-in-law sitting on a pair of scissors and having the corner pharmacist stitch up his wound, I found that interesting as well. Even my visit to Colonial Williamsburg gave fodder to my imagination with its charming apothecary shop. Dried herbs hung around the store and glass jars were filled with ingredients. With those thoughts filed away in my mind and reading other things about the history of apothecary I decided to make my hero in my latest release a turn-of-the century pharmacist. 

Apparently there is a disagreement as to whether the first drug store in America was in New Orleans, because of having the first registered pharmacist running it, or one in Fredericksburg, Virginia purported to be the one where Martha Washington once shopped. 

Around the time of the Civil War, scientific methods started being considered more important in the pharmaceutical arts. Several years before that, the first textbook of pharmacy of American origin, Practical Pharmacy by Mohr, Redwood, and Procter, was written. Throughout the century schools of pharmacy popped up around the country, such as the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1823 and the New York School of Pharmacy in 1829. This brought about a more consistent study of pharmacy than apprenticeship alone though druggists still weren’t required to be licensed.

If you thought enteric-coated tablets or gelatin capsules were a more recent development of the 20th century, Parke, Davis, and Company of Detroit began mass producing them around 1875!

The drugstore soda fountain first appeared in the 1880s. They might have served up a refreshing cherry Coke, or perhaps a root beer. I have to wonder if they served the original Coke with its energizing but addictive ingredient of cocaine. The drug store soda fountain became an important Main Street destination in many a small town in America. 

{PD} The Old Design Shop

One of the first things a turn-of-the-century customer might notice in the front window of a local drugstore was a large jar or glass container hanging by a chain or sitting in a stand and filled with colored liquid. This colorful attention getter is called a show globe. Despite the legends of different colors signaling epidemics in the town, this is highly unlikely. Show globes originated back in the time of the alchemist. Like the alchemist, the pharmacist would show off his prowess in mixing chemicals by coming up with different colors. If mixtures of different densities were layered, they could even produce a striped effect!

Inside the drugstore the prospective customer might find any number of tooth powders, cosmetics, and patent medicines on the shelf. They could peruse corked bottles, tins, and jars, to see what was available. Lining the walls were apothecary cabinets. Behind the clear glass doors lurked tinctures and tonics while the herbs they were extracted from were stored in the drawers below. Perhaps you would see a mortar and pestle which the pharmacist would use to ground the dried herbs. 

{PD} 1881

You could ask the pharmacist for help with finding a suitable medicine for your teething baby. He might recommend the patent medicine, Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup, which with its opiate content would most likely put your baby to sleep in a jiffy, while also addicting her and endangering her life. And if you had “female complaints” you might be introduced to Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound. This remedy contained several herbs thought to help women, including black cohosh, but the original also contained a fair amount of drinking alcohol to calm the nerves. Today there is still a version of her remedy on the market called Lydia Pinkham’s Herbal Compound.

You might be given cough medicine which contained horehound, a strong licorice-like flavored herb. Several expectorants were used. Only guaifenesin is still used in drugstore cough medicines today for that purpose. 

Poisonous plants, such as foxglove and deadly nightshade, were discovered to have healing power in small doses. The local pharmacist could use foxglove to create the heart medicine, digitalis, and nightshade could be used to produce the sedative, belladonna. Today you would find belladonna as an ingredient in any number of prescription drugs such as Donnatol. Valerian root with its sedative properties could be used to help gain a good night’s rest. It’s still taken for those properties today. 

And let’s not forget the soda fountain. A pharmacist of the late 1800s and early 1900s would use flavored syrups or find carbonation helpful to drown out the bitter taste of their preparations. This made it logical for the corner drugstore to open a soda fountain. Through the years these became not only a place to meet for a soft drink, but also have ice cream or eat at the lunch counter.  

The role of the pharmacist has changed somewhat. As larger companies have taken over the market, promising savings, the family-owned drugstore is becoming a thing of the past. Gone are the beautifully polished marble counters where customers could hop on a stool and order a treat. The pharmacist works in an enclosed area, dispensing already prepared medications (unless they work in a compounding pharmacy). While drugstore chains have brought savings, they have also taken away the charm of the historic corner drugstore. 

Kathleen Rouser is the award-winning author of Rumors and Promises, her first novel about the people of fictional Stone Creek, Michigan. She is a longtime member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Kathleen longs to create characters who resonate with readers and realize the need for a transforming Savior in their everyday lives. She lives in Michigan with her hero and husband, and the sassy tail-less cat who found a home in their empty nest. Connect with Kathleen on her website at kathleenrouser.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kathleenerouser/, and on Twitter @KathleenRouser

I'm giving away the copy of my newest release, Secrets and Wishes. Please leave a comment to enter the drawing for one randomly chosen commenter to receive a copy of Secrets and Wishes. Ending date is Oct. 21.

Can unexpected love flourish amid the ashes of grief? 

Stone Creek, Michigan - April, 1901: Maggie Galloway and Thomas Harper clash after their sons collide in a fistfight. Both widowed, they're each doing their best as a parent to their children. Outgoing Maggie has dreams for a home of her own and a business to provide for her son as she searches for God's path for her life as a widow. Reserved Thomas struggles to establish his new pharmacy and take care of his four rambunctious children, while wondering how a loving God could take his beloved wife.

When Thomas becomes deathly ill, Maggie is recruited to nurse him back to health. Taking the children in hand, as well, is more than she bargained for, but she is drawn to help the grieving family. Both nurse and patient find themselves drawn to each other but promptly deny their feelings.

A baking contest sponsored by the Silver Leaf Flour Company brings former beau, Giles Prescott, back into Maggie's life. When Giles offers Maggie a position at their test kitchen in Chicago, he hints that, along with assuring her a good job, it will allow them to possibly rekindle their relationship.

But then a charlatan comes to town, and tragedy soon follows. Maggie and Thomas discover the miracle potions he hawks aren't so harmless when an epidemic hits Stone Creek. Thomas and Maggie realize they must work together to save lives.

Maggie finds herself caught up in battles within and without the battle to help the townsfolk in the midst of illness and chicanery, and the battle to know which man Thomas or Giles deserves to win her heart.

Soda Fountains -- A Sweet Memory of the Past

By Pamela S. Meyers

In my small Wisconsin town where I grew up, Main Street was the center of commerce. In addition to the bank, a couple grocery stores, the post office, and assorted other businesses, the town supported three drugstores, two of which had a soda fountain. A candy shop next door to the movie theater also had a fountain. Those procurers of ice cream delights and fizzy drinks are what stand out the most in my childhood memories.

A typical mid-20th Century soda fountain 

You could slide onto one of the stools and order anything from a cherry Coca-Cola to a chocolate soda or a banana split. And when I became a teenager, the fountain next to the movie theater was the go-to place after the "show."  Lest you think I must be older than dirt, those soda fountains were in existence as late as the early 1970s. And I'm glad they stuck around so that I could have a taste (pun intended) of what having a soda fountain was like.

An early soda fountain, circa early 1900s

I recently researched the history of soda fountains and learned that they made the scene in the 1880s when Jacob Bauer invented carbon dioxide tanks which enabled the selling of carbonic soda drinks. Before 1914, when congress banned the inclusion of opiates and cocaine (yes they were once legal)  in over the counter products, it was very common to purchase drinks that contained these addictive drugs along with herbs and flavorings. After the ban, the image of soda fountain drinks changed from intoxicating to non-intoxicating.  

Before refrigeration was available, soda fountains relied on ice to keep the drinks cool and the ice cream frozen. Ice was supplied by ice companies who harvested ice from frozen lakes and ponds during winter and stored the large blocks in ice houses that were insulated with straw. See my earlier Post on History of Ice Harvesting  for more detailed information on the history of ice cutting.

For decades, fountains could be found in nearly every pharmacy, and also in department stores, dime stores, candy shops and other businesses. They were the social hub of small towns and neighborhoods. Soda jerks, as the men who worked behind the counter were called, memorized the recipes for making special drinks, in the same way bartenders today can mix a specific drink without having to consult an instruction manual. Wide-eyed kids and adults alike would watch as the soda jerk built their sodas from the scoops of ice cream to the syrup, carbonated water, nuts and a bright red cherry. Oh, don't forget the whipped cream! 

In the 1920s, when prohibition became the law and bars closed, the popularity of soda fountains grew more as people flocked to the establishments to connect with others and enjoy a sweet treat at the same time. 

Today, you can still find soda fountains scattered around whose owners work hard to maintain them as true replicas of a time lost to history. Thomas Drugs (pictured on the left),  in White House, Tennessee has a fountain. 

Do you have memories of a soda fountain from your past? Or have you been to one recently that is a replica of one?

A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, author Pamela S. Meyers lives in suburban Chicago with her two rescue cats, an hour's drive away from her Wisconsin hometown which she visits often to dig into its historical legacy. Her novels include Thyme for Love, and Love Will Find a Way, contemporary romantic mysteries and her 1933 historical romance, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. She can often be found nosing in microfilms and historical records about Wisconsin and other Midwestern spots for new story ideas.