Week 16 - Message in a Bottle
Since I have no interest in writing about a message in a bottle, I thought I'd write about bottles - Soda bottles.
When I was a kid, we called carbonated drinks "Soda Popa" which was shortened to "Pop". My mother was a very good mother; she wouldn't allow us to drink sodas very often. It was a treat, not a habit.
When we were down at the ranch, Dad and/or Papa Gates would usually give us money to go get a pop. The pop machine was located in the milk barn. Usually the machines had the original 7 oz. cokes or 12 oz. Barqs soda. We carried several flavors of Barqs including Strawberry, Orange, Grape, Root Beer, Creme, and I think lemon. I seem to remember having 7-Up before the Coca-Cola company introduced Sprite in 1961. I believe on occasions we also had Dr. Pepper and Squirt (a Dr. Pepper product). Coca cola later introduced Fresca in an attempt to compete with Squirt - Fresca didn't have much staying power.
When I was very young, the sodas were 5 cents. The machine was about waist high. The bottles hung by their necks and you would drag the bottle of your choice to the opening which would open after you deposited your nickle. The machine looked similar to the following pictures.
Sometime in the early 1960s, the old soda machine was replaced by a 10 cent coke machine. The sodas were stored horizontal instead of vertical. Each variety had it's own slot (or multiple slots for the more popular varieties). You would deposit your dime and the pull the desired soda from it's slot. The machine was able to make change for a quarter. By the time we got to the 10 cent machines we no longer had 7-Up; it had been replaced by Sprite.
By the time I got to high school (late 60s - early 70's), the 10 cent machine had been replaced the a quarter machine.
When I was a kid, we called carbonated drinks "Soda Popa" which was shortened to "Pop". My mother was a very good mother; she wouldn't allow us to drink sodas very often. It was a treat, not a habit.
When we were down at the ranch, Dad and/or Papa Gates would usually give us money to go get a pop. The pop machine was located in the milk barn. Usually the machines had the original 7 oz. cokes or 12 oz. Barqs soda. We carried several flavors of Barqs including Strawberry, Orange, Grape, Root Beer, Creme, and I think lemon. I seem to remember having 7-Up before the Coca-Cola company introduced Sprite in 1961. I believe on occasions we also had Dr. Pepper and Squirt (a Dr. Pepper product). Coca cola later introduced Fresca in an attempt to compete with Squirt - Fresca didn't have much staying power.
When I was very young, the sodas were 5 cents. The machine was about waist high. The bottles hung by their necks and you would drag the bottle of your choice to the opening which would open after you deposited your nickle. The machine looked similar to the following pictures.
I joined the service in 1973, so I have no further information on how the soda machines evolved at the ranch.
When I was young, my soda of choice was Barq creme and Orange sodas. I was never much of a Coke drinker, I preferred Pepsi to Coke. As an adult, my preferred soda was Diet Coke. When I was working, I would take 1 can of Diet Coke in my lunch bag. After I retired, I switched to Iced tea. I haven't bought a 12-pack of soda in forever. If I do have a soda it's usually when I'm at a restaurant as I normally don't like restaurant iced tea.
When I was young, my soda of choice was Barq creme and Orange sodas. I was never much of a Coke drinker, I preferred Pepsi to Coke. As an adult, my preferred soda was Diet Coke. When I was working, I would take 1 can of Diet Coke in my lunch bag. After I retired, I switched to Iced tea. I haven't bought a 12-pack of soda in forever. If I do have a soda it's usually when I'm at a restaurant as I normally don't like restaurant iced tea.
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