ATTENTION ~ MEMBER jblaylock ~ RE: "WALLINS CREEK BOTTLING WORKS" ~ KENTUCKY

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SODAPOPBOB

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The following pertains to a thread by member jblaylock from March of 2013 and his Wallins Creek Bottling Works bottle from Wallins Creek, Kentucky. In a recent communication with Josh, I promised him I would see if I could find anything else related to the bottle that wasn't discussed in the 2013 thread. As you will soon discover, Josh's bottle is still as big a mystery as ever.



Link to thread ...

https://www.antique-bottles.net/forum/Need-help-on-this-odd-bottle-m593575.aspx

The following are quotes from the 2013 thread and were posted by the members indicated. This is just about all I had to go on while conducting my own recent search ...

Cowseatmaize Quote:

"The 1925 book I have shows Wallins Bottling Works, G.P. Sharp, prop.. That's all I got."

Celerycola Quote:

"1923 Blue Book lists O. H. Howard as proprietor of Wallins Creek Bottling Works."

My Quote:

G. P. Sharp Middlesborough, Kentucky Bell County Birth Year 1874

Jblaylock Quote:

"Interesting, as I did get a couple hits on Google for a very very old newspaper from Middlesborough for the words "Wallins Green", but I couldn't actually find it on the page."

~ * ~

The long story short is, other than the 1925 reference by cowseatmaize and the 1923 reference by celerycola, I was unable to find any confirmation of there ever being a Wallins Creek Bottling Works. But I did find a few things that might shed some light on this topic for future research.

Attachments ...

1. Middlesboro Daily News ~ Middlesboro, Kentucky ~ November 18, 1924.
Shows a G.P. Sharp with the Whistle Bottling Company in Middlesboro, Kentucky. Middlesboro is about 35 miles from Wallins Creek.

2 & 3. There were a lot of people with the last name Howard that resided in Wallins Creek, but the only one I could find that went by O.H. Howard during the 1920s was an Oscar Henry Howard. This 1917 WWI draft registration card indicates he was 28 years old at the time and that his occupation was as a "Merchant and Mining Business." But it doesn't specify whether he was an employee or an owner.
(More about this on the next page).
 

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SODAPOPBOB

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Continued ...
1. Here's a picture of the bottle in question which is described by Josh as follows ...

"The bottle is a light aqua with a 'shingles' design on it. On the neck it reads "Wallins Bottling Works" On the base it reads "Wallins Green, KY", "Cap 6 1/2oz" "Patent appl'd for" On the bottom there is a large "W" and a small "c" inside a circle."

The C-in-a-circle could be for ...

Chattanooga Glass Company, Chattanooga, Tennessee & other plant locations in later years (1901-1988), mark was used c.1927-1988. The circle reportedly may be either “single line” or “double line” on some earlier bottles. Chattanooga Glass Company made tremendous quantities of the classic “hobbleskirt” shaped Coca-Cola bottles, and the “C in a circle” is often seen on the side or the base of these bottles.

( As for the "Patent Applied For" ... I looked but have not been able to find a patent for the bottle, yet. As for the Wallins Green that's embossed on the bottle, that appears to have been an error on the part of the glass maker ).

2. Regarding the last name "Howard," this calendar is dated 1926 and confirms there was a Howard Drug Store in Wallins Creek at the time. I'm not certain if O.H. Howard was a relation or not, but he could have been. It's also possible this is where Oscar Henry Howard worked in 1917 as indicated on his draft card.

3. This (iddy-bitty) snippet is from a drug store journal dated 1921 and indicates that a W.K. Howard was the proprietor of a Wallins Creek drug store at the time. I also found a similar listing dated 1933, so the time period seems about right related to the bottle, which appears to be from the 1920s or early 1930s. ( I searched Ancestry.com but could not find a single listing for a W.K. Howard of Wallins Creek, Kentucky. Other than the information contained in the 1921 and 1933 snippets, I know nothing about him).
 

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SODAPOPBOB

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Continued ...

Attachment:

1. Newspaper article from ...

The Middlesboro Daily News, Middlesboro, Kentucky ~ March 19, 1923

As far as I know, Wallins Creek did not have a newspaper in the 1920s-30s, with the nearest one's being located in Harlan about 10 miles away and in Middlesboro about 35 miles away.

Notice in the article that it mentions an "Arnold Drug Company" store but not a "Howard Drug Store." It could be the Howard Drug Store, which we know from the snippet was there in 1921, wasn't mentioned in the article because it was already established and likely not part of the new face-lift the town was experiencing in 1923.

The link below, and the copy/pasted [but slightly edited] information from it, shows there were two drug stores in Wallins Creek at one time. Even though I don't know the exact time period the gentleman is referring to, because he mentions a movie theater I suspect he is talking about no earlier than the 1920s. (By the way, the U.S. Census for Wallins Creek shows a population of only 900 residents in 1930).

Also notice where he refers to a Coca Cola bottling plant, which I have seen other "vague" references to but otherwise cannot find any listings for to "confirm" that a Coca Cola bottling plant ever existed in Wallins Creek, Kentucky at any time. If anybody has confirmation of one, please share it with us. Also, is the gentleman saying the ice plant and the Coca Cola plant were two separate operations or one and the same?

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/wallins-creek-high-school-1959-class/4Hj7-_DjJZE


"There was a time long ago when you could get about anything you wanted or needed in the town of Wallins. Just before you entered Walllins, there was an Ice Plant and a Coca-Cola Bottling plant. As you came in town there was the Wallins National Bank, 2 Drug Stores, 2 Hardware Stores run by Grover Blanton and Bradford Howard. Joe Love Lawson was the undertaker. Ed Hoskins ran a Groc. Store. Ben Abraham run the Bakery. Nell Lewis and A.J Johnson each had a Dress Shop. There was an A&P Groc Store and Candy Kitchen. 2 Hotels, and a Post Office. Furniture stores and Restaurants. We even had a theater. You could go to the show on Friday evenings for 5 cents. Wallins also had a drycleaning shop and had a shoe shine boy. School was on School-House Hill. You had to cross a swinging bridge over the Rail Road tracks and 2 flights of steps up the hill to the school."

~ * ~


INCONCLUSIVE CONCLUSION ...

Even though I cannot explain Cowseatmaize 1925 G.P. Sharp reference, nor Celerycola's 1923 O.H. Howard reference, I accept them as being legitimate. But other than that, and despite the existence of Josh's bottle, I still remain unconvinced there was ever a Wallins Creek Bottling Works. I am also unconvinced there was ever a Coca Cola bottling plant. Please know I do not say this to be argumentative because nothing could be farther from the truth. It's just that more needs to be found in order to confirm the existence of a Wallins Creek Bottling Works besides what has already been posted by others, including myself. If you have information to refute my suspicions, please share them with us. At this juncture I am leaning toward three possibilities ...

1. The so called Wallins Creek Bottling Works wasn't as big an operation as we might normally expect but rather was a small, backroom operation located at the Howard Drug Store.

2. That Josh's bottle might have originated in either Harlan or Middlesboro, Kentucky but was made for and sold in Wallins Creek.

3. That O.H. Howard and G.P. Sharp were in some way connected with the bottling facility but not necessarily in Wallins Creek proper.

Lastly ...

If there was a Coca Cola bottling plant in Wallins Creek, Kentucky, then why can't I find any confirmation of it's existence, nor a single bottle marked as such? Or was it and everything else soda pop related located at the ice plant?
 

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SODAPOPBOB

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P.S. In the gentleman's story I posted a link to, I wonder how far he meant when he referred to the ice plant and the Coca Cola plant as being located ... "Just before you entered Walllins" Did he mean one block - one mile - or ten miles? Let's assume it was within a mile. And yet I still wonder if that would that fall into the Wallins Creek district or possibly the Harlan or Middlesboro districts?
 

SODAPOPBOB

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By the way ... There were Coca Cola bottling plants in both Middlesboro as well as in Harlan, Kentucky. I can't help but wonder why they would but a Coca Cola plant in Wallins Creek when they already had one in Harlan, which was only about ten miles away? The 1930 population for Harlan was about 65,000 versus Wallins Creek 1930 population of only 900
 

SODAPOPBOB

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Because Wallins Creek is in Harlan County, I'm hoping this Harlan County historical records site will produce something useful. It's quite extensive and I have barely skimmed the surface of it. The Census category alone is worth it's weight in gold. Check it out ... http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kyharlan/research.html
 

SODAPOPBOB

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The more I look into this, the more inclined I am to think the "Wallins Bottling Works" was owned and operated by the "China Coal Company" and was just one of several company owned businesses that were common in small mining towns such as Wallins Creek. If I am correct on this assumption, it would explain the lack of advertising associated with the brand because it was likely intended only for the workers and families who lived in Wallins Creek and worked for the mine.

I searched the 1920 census records from my last post and found no less than twenty adult individuals in Wallins Creek with the last name of Howard, the majority of which were listed as merchants of groceries, dry goods, and one that was the manager of a pool hall.

Notice the snippet below, which is from a coal mining journal dated 1921, where it shows ...

PR [Public Relations] B.F. Howard
GM [General Manager] John L Howard

I haven't fully researched the China Coal Company, yet, but as near as I can determine it was not owned by the Howard's, but it's sure starting to look as if the Howard's operated most of the stores in Wallins Creek in the 1920s and that one of their operations might have been a small bottling works.

I intend to take a closer look at the history of the China Coal Company and will post anything of interest I find.
 

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SODAPOPBOB

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This newspaper article isn't from or about Wallins Creek, but it does typify what I mentioned earlier about small, one-room soft drink bottling operations. From ... The Middlesboro Daily News ~ Middlesboro, Kentucky ~ March 29, 1923
 

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SODAPOPBOB

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More pieces of the puzzle ...

I still haven't found a Coca Cola bottling or any other type of bottling operation in Wallins Creek, but the following will confirm there was a Ice Company located there which began operation in 1923 and changed it's name in 1925. The first article also mentions a Howard's Confectionery [candy store/business] which might lead to a connection with a soda bottling works because both used tons of sugar and it is not uncommon to find a confectionery business and a soda pop business under the same roof.

1. Middlesboro Daily News ~ Middlesboro, Kentucky ~ June 13, 1923 (Ice company ready to open)(Howard's Confectionery)

2. From a refrigeration trade journal ~ 1925 (Ice company name change)
 

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