ATTENTION! FORUM MEMBER squirtbob ~ EARLY SQUIRT BOTTLING NEWSPAPER ADS

[SODAPOPBOB]

Even though I haven't been able to find the 4211 phone number in a newspaper ad, it's obviously related to Squirt because it's on a Squirt crate. Nor could I find a listing for a "Lebanon Bottling Company" and still believe the guy was guessing about that. Krim and Ma's are the only bottlers of Squirt I can find in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. My best guess at the moment is that the wooden Squirt crate came from ... Old Fashioned Ma's Bottling Company ~ Lebanon, Pennsylvania The Lebanon newspapers are full of ads that include phone numbers. The one below is obviously not a Squirt ad - I selected it at random to serve as an example how phone numbers are shown in most of the Lebanon ads during the 1940s. Notice that it's about the same as the one on the Squirt crate except for the number. Lebanon Daily News ~ Lebanon, Pennsylvania ~ March 1, 1946

 

[squirtbob]

The crate is exactly like mine, but it is not mine. I can tell by the side shots that you posted. Not that this is conclusive but I bought it from someone in Mechanicsburg PA which is about 50 miles from Lebanon.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Two points to ponder ... 1. The earliest date I can find for "Old Fashion Ma's Bottling Company" in Lebanon is 1947 2. The snippet below shows Ma's phone number as Lebanon 2-8701 - But this was in 1954 Question: Could 4211 possibly have been Ma's 1940s phone number or did the number belong to some other Squirt bottler in Lebanon? But if some other Squirt bottler, who? Lebanon Daily News ~ March 15, 1954

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Bob Is it possible to narrow down the latest possible year that particular Squirt crate was produced? Or is it an "anywhere between about 1938 and 1955" type of crate?

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. The reason I ask about the latest possible date for the crate is because the earliest connection I can find for Ma's Bottling Company and Squirt is 1952. Is it possible the crate dates to 1952 or later?

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Bob More questions ... We know for certain that Ma's Bottling Company in Lebanon bottled Squirt in the 1950s and 1960s, but why can't I find a picture of a single Squirt bottle from them? Surely 1960s Squirt bottles are not that rare, are they?

 

[squirtbob]

One would assume that the crate advertising would be somewhat similar to the bottles that they carried. The cursive script style was changed to BOLD CAPS in 1948. Based on that, the colors used and the 4 digit number used for the telephone number, the message "alkalizer, refresher, mixer" for which you found an ad, I believe that the crate dates to about 1940, possibly 39. Also as you move into the 50's I think the crate height became much shorter. (less weight)There is nothing rare about squirt bottles in the 60's.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Bob Thanks for the reminders, they really help. And because of your reminders, I'm now thinking that the Ma's Bottling Company connection with Squirt any earlier than about 1950 just doesn't fit into the scheme of things. There must have been someone else who was bottling Squirt in Lebanon prior to about 1950, but who? I guess I need to dig a little deeper and see if the WorthPoint seller might have been right after all and there was in fact a "Lebanon Bottling Company."

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Please don't ask how I missed seeing this earlier, because I don't know. All I know at the moment is that there was a "Lebanon Bottling Company." I haven't looked for a Squirt connection yet, but intend to. The article had something to do with mercantile license in the state of Pennsylvania in 1940. The complete list included hundreds of names. From ... Lebanon Daily News ~ Lebanon, Pennsylvania ~ June 21, 1939

 

[squirtbob]

Too bad we don't have some Lebanon telephone books from that era. That might confirm when LBC started and how long 4211 was in use ... it's interesting that you found that in a 1939 ad. I wonder if that was a license application or a renewal.