Same mold, same city, different companies

[HunterTheFox59]

Thanks Bob, it's amazing to see just how many companies that General Beverage was in control of. I don't think that this General Beverage is connected to the one in Detroit. Through my research I've found several companies with similar/identical names, so I believe it's a coincidence. Also if there was a connection there would more information surrounding the companies, given that they are so far apart.

 

[SODABOB]

I agree - the Detroit references are a coincidence. I wonder if this 1942 ad for X-Tra Cola fits into the scheme of things? I believe Adams, Mass. is only about 60 miles from Springfield. I have seen some of the ACL bottles like the one in the ad but I don't know very much about them.

Bob

 

[HunterTheFox59]

They are definitely related. I've seen several X-Tra ACLs that were marked X-Tra Bottling Co Springfield MA. Perhaps there was a distribution plant in North Adams.

 

[SODABOB]

Cool

So I guess the only thing we haven't figured out, and possibly never will, is why your bottles have two different names on the base ...

X-Tra Bottle = X-Tra Bottling Company - Springfield, Mass.
Nocafeen Bottle = Nocafeen Company - Springfield, Mass.

Even though I'm confident they were both bottled by the General Beverage Corp., you still gotta wonder why they have different names. The only thing I can think of is that they had several operations going on under the same umbrella, possibly for financial and/or other reasons. I suppose the only way we will ever know for certain would be to find some of their company records and see what's what. However, that could get really complicated and probably something for another day.

Bob

 

[hemihampton]

One of my Detroit Generals. LEON.

 

[SODABOB]

Nice bottle, Leon. Looks to be 1930s-40s. It was when I found the X-Tra and the Nocafeen trademarks that I made the connection with the General Beverage Corp. in Springfield, Mass. - with a specific focus on Springfield because that's what's embossed on the bases of Hunter's bottles. The use of the word Corp. also seemed to be a key. That initiated additional searches to see what else I could find related to the name General Beverage Co. and Corp.. As it turned out I found a lot of bottling operations called General Beverage, including some that only bottled beer and liquor. I didn't save everything I found because there were so many of them, but here is a sampling of what I did find. As you can see all of them use Co. and not Corp. So far, the General Beverage in Springfield is the only one I have been able to find that used the word Corp.

 

[SODABOB]

Even though I don't intend to try and find every one of the bottles that match up with the ads I posted, I thought that at least one example might be of interest. This High Rock bottle on eBay and this 1924 Baltimore ad seem to be a match.

Large Soda Bottle High Rock General Beverage Co Baltimore MD Permit 115 Green | eBay

The bottle is embossed HIGH ROCK on the front shoulder and GENERAL BEVERAGE CO. / BALTO. MD. on the front heel as well as HEALTH DEPT. PERMIT 115 / CONTENTS 24 FL. on the back heel. Large G on the base.

tinyurl.com

 

[SODABOB]

Hunter

In case there was any doubt that your X-Tra bottle was connected with the General Beverage Corp., this 1946 Springfield directory listing should confirm it. Also notice that it says "Extract Mfg." That sounds to me that they made their own syrup/extract for the X-Tra beverage. It's even possible that the word X-Tra is a play on the word Extract.

In one of your opening comments you said there was a 71 next to the Glenshaw mark - [G] 71. I should have thought of this earlier but I am almost certain that the 71 is not a date. I don't know how familiar you are with Glenshaw bottles, but a lot of the earlier ones have a small letter (date code) on the lip (reinforcing ring) of the bottle. They are super-small and sometimes require a magnifying glass to see them. The attached chart will give you an idea of what to look for. If it does have one of the codes then you will be able to date your bottle.

Also stand by for something I found from 1925 that will open a whole new can of worms.

Bob

 

[HunterTheFox59]

Thanks, Bob for the information! I away right now but I'll check the bottle for a date when I get back.

 

[SODABOB]

Thanks, Hunter - no hurry

What follows is what I referred to earlier as a new can of worms but am now calling the rest of the story. I was trying to find some company records with the hope that it might reveal more information about the General Beverage Corp. That's when I stumbled onto a 1925 Springfield directory listing that puzzled me. As you will see in the attachments the listing is for a Massasoit Bottling Co. that was run by Philip Schwartz. The reason it puzzled me is because I thought 1925 was too early to be the same Schwartz that ran General Beverage in the 1940s. As it turns out they were one and the same family. Even though it is found under different names, such as Massasoit Bottling in 1925, in 1929 it was referred to as the Massasoit Beverage Co. Notice in the 1929 document where they bottled a lot of different soft drinks and that it was primarily run by Philip Schwartz. Speaking of the Schwartz brothers, I discovered the following ...

Philip Schwartz / Born 1903 / Died 1974
Samuel Schwartz / Born 1908 / Died 1995
Albert Schwartz / Born 1910 / Died 1995

I attached three Census records for the Schwartz's - 1930, 1940, and 1950. I will address the 1940 Census (Oil Merchant) later.

I can't recall if you said you live in the Springfield area, but if you do you are probably familiar with Massasoit Spring. I won't go into that now, but based on what I have read I guess it's an historic place that goes way back into the 1800s. Apparently it was the spring that influenced the name Massasoit Bottling and the Massasoit Beverage Co. I'm not sure exactly where the spring was located, but according to the 1925 directory listing the Schwartz botting operation was at 14 Grosnenor St. in Springfield. (See attached 1911 Sanborn map).

Lastly, I have not looked for any of their 1920s bottles, and not sure if they even exist, but if they do it might be interesting to see what they look like and/or how they are labeled - which probably had paper labels.

That's it for now. I hope I haven't gone too far outside-of-the-box with this. I guess it's just another example of one clue eventually leads to another, and another, and another.

Bob