Vernors Ginger Ale 150th B-Day

[SODABOB]

I recently changed my email address which resulted in my having to re-register under a different name. My new name is now ...

Sodabob ... and was formerly Sodapopbob

Now I can get email notifications and will be posting this message on various other threads in order to get notifications from those as well.

 

[VernorsGuy]

You guys are amazing! What a great discussion. I know the discussion has died out, but I'd like to get it going again. I'll need to look a little closer at some of the items in my collection and see if I can help with the date debate. Given the seriousness of it all, we might need to start calling it "Vernorgate". The biggest shame of all is that Dr Pepper, the owners of the Vernors brand, has no history at all. Dr Pepper soda pop history is intact. But, Vernors history was lost in the 1960s and 1970s when a series of different owners threw just about everything out. I sent Soda Bob an email saying the Detroit Historical Society has James Vernor's hand-written recipe book. I've never handled it. It's kept in a separate building from the museum in a secure and temperature controlled environment. He was so meticulous, I bet he dated his recipes. I have asked for someone to go look. (and take photos)

In the meantime, let me find some of my old paper artifacts - like the "outfit" brochure - and see if it's dated. I'll scan what I have and put things out here for everyone to see.

Glad I found you guys. You have some resources I've never seen. Totally against Soda Bob's advice, I go with the assumption model a lot. But, my guesses have been pretty close to correct - give or take five or ten years - to the facts I've read in this thread.

Looking forward to seeing what else you detectives can find.

Keith Wunderlich
(The guy who wrote the Vernor's book.)

 

[SODABOB]

Keith

Welcome to the forum ... :welcome:

I tried emailing you several times but for some reason (possibly on my end) they all failed. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

I didn't get your email - at least not yet! ???

Thanks for stopping by,

Bob

 

[VernorsGuy]

Bob and other Vernor's enthusiasts-

I'll take some photos over the weekend and figure out how to add them to these posts. I have some cool stuff, but it looks like you do, too! This is going to be fun!

if anyone has requests not necessarily related to Vernor's starting in 1866, let me know.

My email is vernorsclub@yahoo.com

Keith

 

[hemihampton]

Hi Keith & Welcome to the site. Do you live in Detroit Area? LEON.

 

[VernorsGuy]

Trying to figure out how to insert photos on this site. I think I have attached three images from a price list brochure that had been mentioned earlier. There is no date, but it doesn't matter. The address is 33 Woodward Avenue so it's after 1896. (Hard to believe 1896 is "too new" for this discussion!)

if the photos on this post actually appear, I'll send a great photo I have of a brochure that Vernor's made that says "Since 1868". That one was printed in 1927.

Yes, I live in metro Detroit.

 

[VernorsGuy]

Looks like I can attach photos. Now I just need to figure out how to get them right side up! Two photos of two different, yet almost identical, brochures. The first says "Since 1868". The next one was corrected to "Since 1866". Print date is 1927.

Part of me wants to believe 1868 was the true date. It makes more sense than the Civil War aging story. But, why would they throw away the 60 year anniversary celebration they could have had in 1928 by changing the year to 1866?

Earlier in this thread someone said Vernor's is not America's oldest pop. Very true. I've never heard them claim that. The claim is America's oldest continuously produced pop. There were lots of pops before Vernor's. They just didn't make it to 2016. So, maybe in 1927 the two year difference was important. Maybe another brand from 1867 was still in business and Vernor's needed that extra two years to be the oldest.

Sorry, Bob, assumptions.

 

[VernorsGuy]

Great photo postcard with Vernor's on the left. It says from Ferry. Well, Ferry street is up in midtown. So, I think they actually mean a ferry - like a boat. Vernor's was only a few buildings away from the Detroit River in its second location.

 

[VernorsGuy]

Seeing that this IS a bottle forum.......

(Sorry for the upside down. Just learning this software!)

 

[hemihampton]

I like those Vernor's bottles. I dig Privy's in Detroit & never found one yet. LEON.