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SODABOB

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This is the last one for now - but its really cool because it gives us a start date ( I was only off by one year when I said 1913) Its from Galesburg, Illinois but doesn't have any numbers stamped on it. I'm still a little confused when the Waterloo, Iowa factory started, other than the newspaper article leads me to believe it was pre-1951 ???

Flour City Box Co.
Manufacturers Since 1912
Waterloo, Iowa
Sturdy Bilt Cases

Sturdy Bilt Coca Cola Galesburg Illinois Since 1912 (1).jpg


Sturdy Bilt Coca Cola Galesburg, Illinois Since 1912 (2).jpg



For The Home
Galesburg, Illinois


Sturdy Bilt Coca Cola Galesburg, Illinois Since 1912 For The Home.jpg
 
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SODABOB

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This newspaper article should confirm the start year for the Waterloo, Iowa box factory. Notice where it says "six months after" and that they cut the first timber for making boxes in January of 1932. I still haven't found anything definitive about the numbers stamped on the cases but hoping that information will surface eventually.

[ The Courier ~ Waterloo, Iowa ~ December 31, 1933 ]


Sturdy Bilt The Courier Waterloo Iowa Dec 31, 1933 (3).jpg
 

SODABOB

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QUESTION

Now that we know when the Sturdy Bilt (Flour City Box) company was established ..

1. In Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1912
2. In Waterloo, Iowa in 1932-33
3. In Jonesboro, Arkansas in 1951

If the second double-digit numbers are dates ...

Then why can't I find a Sturdy Bilt (Flour City Box) crate with a second number lower than 52?

If they were dates, there should be a ton of numbers lower than 52
 
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SODABOB

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Notice this Pepsi Cola grate, that was made in Waterloo, Iowa, has 1939 stamped on it. The stamp on the Coca Cola crate I just posted appears to be identical but does not have a date. It could be that some of the earliest crates were dated like this and some weren't. That might explain my difficulty in finding pre-51 numbers; because there were no numbers on some (most?) of them, and no reason for anyone to mention a number or date because they weren't stamped. So I'm going back to the drawing board and see if I can figure out exactly when they started stamping them with numbers on a consistent basis, with trying to figure out the mystery of the so called 3-1-3 Los Angeles crates as my primary goal.

Footnote: If 1941 was the key year for the Los Angeles and other southern California 3-1-3 bottles, and the 3-1-3 Los Angeles crates are also from the same time period, then it seems to me that the Los Angeles crates would be stamped like this 1939 Pepsi Cola crate and not stamped with the variety of different numbers we have been seeing that start with a 6. And make no mistake, there are a plenty of Sturdy Bilt 7up crates out there because I have seen them during my searches. In other words; the mystery continues! :confused:

Sturdy Bilt Pepsi Cola 1939 Flour City Box Since 1912 Minneapolis.jpg


Sturdy Bilt Pepsi Cola 1939 Flour City Box Since 1912 Minneapolis inside.jpg
 

SODABOB

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Here's a partial list of some of the numbers I have seen on Sturdy Bilt 7up crates ...

11-55
8-72
5-64
10-52
12-56
12-66
11-75
3-75
4-58
10-67
9-67
12-59

Some of these crates had locations on them and some didn't, which I will discuss later. But for now just suffice it to say that there doesn't appear to be any obvious rhyme or reason regarding the numbers that are consistent with either locations or dates. I did not include the 7up crates that start with a 6 in this list because those are scattered throughout this thread as well as the original thread and can be seen with a simple back-search. However, I will include the crates that start with a 6 in my final list.
 
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SODABOB

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"Pop" Quiz!

Did you notice in my list that none of the first numbers are higher than 12? Hmm ... What does the number 12 bring to mind?
 

SODABOB

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"Pop" Quiz No. 2

Did you notice in my list that none of the second numbers are higher than 75?


[ The Star Tribune ~ Minneapolis, Minnesota ~ November 12, 1976 ]


Footnote: I think where it says "73 years" is a typo and should be "63 years." Which would reflect a start-up year in Minnesota as 1913 and not 1903. However, as we now know, the actual start-up year was in 1912. But regardless of the one year discrepancy, this article should confirm the name change as occurring in 1976. Although I need to check and see if the name change included their factories in Waterloo, Iowa and Jonesboro, Arkansas.


Sturdy Bilt Name Change 1976Star_Tribune_Fri__Nov_12__1976_ (2).jpg
 
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SODABOB

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And here we have a 7up Uncola crate marked with ...

Sturdy Bilt
Made BY
Flour City
Wooden Box, Inc.
MPLS., MINN
2-76

Note: 7up introduced "The Uncola" in 1967

Is it possible this is one of the last 7up crates made in Minneapolis, Minnesota under the old name?

Sturdy Bilt 7up Uncola inside (2).jpg

Sturdy Bilt 7up Uncola inside.jpg
 
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SODABOB

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In case (pun intended) you're wondering, I openly admit that my latest post are pointing in the direction that the numbers indicate months and years. So what I'm going to do next is focus entirely on the Los Angeles and other southern California 7up crates with the 3-1-3 bubble placement and see what I come up (pun intended) with. In the meantime, here's an interesting article from ...

[ The Baxter Bulletin ~ Mountain Home, Arkansas ~ June 6, 1968 ]

Notice the article is a re-print from the Jonesboro Sun

Also notice in the last snippet where it says ...

"It was not until after World War II that Flour City got into high level production of soft drink cases"

Note: I will post another article later that talks about how Flour City Box devoted about 90+% of its production towards the war effort producing ammunition and other types of wood boxes during the years 1941 through 1945. They even had a government contract during those years.


Sturdy Bilt Baxter_Bulletin_Thu__Jun_6__1968_ (1).jpg

Sturdy Bilt Baxter_Bulletin_Thu__Jun_6__1968_ (2).jpg

Sturdy Bilt Baxter_Bulletin_Thu__Jun_6__1968_ (3).jpg
 

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SODABOB

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Here's one of the WWII era articles from ...

[ The Courier ~ Waterloo, Iowa ~ June 28, 1942 ]



Sturdy Bilt The_Courier_Sun__Jun_28__1942_ (1).jpg

Sturdy Bilt The_Courier_Sun__Jun_28__1942_ (2).jpg
 

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