Barq's Root Beer

[SODAPOPBOB]

And here's what 819 St. Louis Street looks like today - which is the address from the 1921 directory ...

Note: I haven't found an address for Cascade Bottling Works. I believe the address in the 1928 directory was his residence.

(Red building in the center)

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Commentary ...

I think its interesting that what I sometimes think an early 1900s bottling plant should look like is often dramatically different than what they turn out to be in reality. Such as the one I just posted - it looks more like a brothel or something along those lines than it does a bottling operation. The same is true regarding the operation itself. Take for example the following pictures - all three are early 1900s Mom & Pop bottling plants. Early bottling operations weren't always as romantic as I sometimes think they were ...

I don't know the locations or exact dates for any of these bottling works, but its possible that Cascade Bottling Works had similar facilities.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

I did a quick search for Cascade Bottling Works New Orleans Louisiana and every result I found showed the same address of ...

326 N Lopez St

In fact, that same address for Cascade Bottling is listed as early as 1923 and as late as 1942!

Are you ready for this?

Here's what the building looks like today ...




By the way, I have searched the address on map websites where they have old aerial views, and the same row of buildings were there in the 1960s. I don't know if the same buildings were there in the 1920s and 1940s, but I suspect they were.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Which brings us to this ...

"Robinson got into the beverage business almost by accident, reportedly winning the Cascade Water Bottling Co. of New Orleans in a poker game on a Mississippi River boat in the 1920s."


http://www.law360.com/articles/193782/barq-s-heirs-want-stake-in-root-beer-co-from-coke


By the way, I don't make this stuff up - I just find it and post it and go from there!

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Here's the complete article in case the link doesn't work for you ...

Barq's Heirs Want Stake In Root Beer Co. From Coke


By Evan Weinberger

Law360, New York (September 15, 2010, 7:32 PM ET) -- The Coca-Cola Co. is facing a lawsuit from heirs of the "illegitimate" son of the founder of Barq's Inc., who claim they still own a one-third interest in the root beer maker and want either the return of the interest or compensation.

The estate of Arthur Robinson — son of Jasper Louis, or Jesse, Robinson — is entitled to a one-third interest in Barq's, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The claims stem from a 1934 agreement between Edward Charles Edmond Barq Sr., the company's founder, and Jesse Robinson, his son born out of wedlock.

Coca-Cola purchased New Orleans-based Barq's in 1995 for nearly $92 million, the complaint says.

The long history in this case stretches back to the late 1890s, when Edward Barq Sr. formed Barq Brothers Bottling Co. in New Orleans, the complaint says.

In 1897, Edward Barq moved to Biloxi, Miss., with his wife and founded the Biloxi Artesian Bottling Works. While in Biloxi, Barq fathered Jesse Robinson out of wedlock, the complaint says.

Barq's wife allowed him to bring Robinson into the family home but blocked his attempts to formally adopt his son, the complaint says.

Robinson got into the beverage business almost by accident, reportedly winning the Cascade Water Bottling Co. of New Orleans in a poker game on a Mississippi River boat in the 1920s, the complaint says.

Barq encouraged Robinson to transform his plant into a Barq's production facility soon after, where he became instrumental in distributing Barq's root beer and other beverages throughout Louisiana, the complaint says.

In 1934, Barq gave Robinson exclusive rights to use the family formula for soft drinks, including root beer, in all of Louisiana except Washington Parish, as well as the name Barq's, according to the complaint.

Robinson refined the formula for Barq's root beer such that there was a distinct difference between what was sold in Mississippi and what was sold in Louisiana, the complaint says. In 1946, Robinson formed Barq’s Beverages Inc. to exercise his rights in Louisiana.

After Robinson died in 1949, he passed along one half of his company, which held the franchise for Barq's root beer in most of Louisiana, to his wife Marie Vicknair Robinson, with the remaining half divided evenly among his three children, Arthur, Betty and Yula, the complaint says.

When Marie Robinson died in 1979, her half of the property was divided evenly among the three children, according to the complaint.

Arthur Robinson, whose three children launched the suit, became president of Barq's Beverages and he refined the formula for the company's famous root beer, the complaint says. But in 1970, his mother suffered a stroke, and Arthur Robinson was forced to sell his interest in the company to his sisters, who had barred him from entering the factory with police backing and no apparent reason, according to the complaint.

The sale of Arthur Robinson's interest in Barq's, through a series of transactions, are null under Louisiana law, the complaint says, meaning he and his heirs are still entitled to now a one-third interest in the company.

Two New Orleans attorneys purchased the Mississippi branch of Barq's in 1976 and in 1988 bought Barq's Beverages for nearly $5 million after losing a copyright lawsuit to the Robinson family's company, the complaint says.

The unified company adopted the Louisiana root beer formula developed by Arthur Robinson as the one used for production, the complaint says.

Arthur Robinson died in 1996.

It is unclear from the complaint whether Arthur Robinson's estate is pursuing one-third of the unified Barq's or one-third of Barq's Beverages, but the difference could mean a steep price for Coca-Cola.

Counsel for both the Robinson estate and Coca-Cola could not be reached for comment.

The Robinson estate is represented by The Kramer Law Firm.

No counsel information was immediately available for Coca-Cola.

The case is Robinson v. Coca-Cola Co., case number 10-cv-03060, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

 

[andy volkerts]

Commentary ...

I think its interesting that what I sometimes think an early 1900s bottling plant should look like is often dramatically different than what they turn out to be in reality. Such as the one I just posted - it looks more like a brothel or something along those lines than it does a bottling operation. The same is true regarding the operation itself. Take for example the following pictures - all three are early 1900s Mom & Pop bottling plants. Early bottling operations weren't always as romantic as I sometimes think they were ...

I don't know the locations or exact dates for any of these bottling works, but its possible that Cascade Bottling Works had similar facilities.

View attachment 172329

View attachment 172330

View attachment 172331

And that doesn't even count the romantic aspects of child labor, or maybe slavery would be a better choice of words, kinda like the factories in china are run now. Great Pics by the way........Andy

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Speaking of child labor in the bottling industry, it was even more prevalent in glass factories than it was in small, family owned bottling operations. Take the following for example ...

This circa 1908 image was taken at the Seneca Glass Works in Morgantown, WV. and shows a gaffer (with the blowpipe) at work with his "mold tender" boy (seated). The mold boy would open and close the mold (at the base of the pipe behind the wash tub) as directed by the gaffer. In front of the gaffer in this image (to his right) is the chair where much work was done with blowpipe manipulation prior to lowering the parison into the mold. A second boy looks on with (possible) admiration of the gaffer as they were the highest paid and most elite workers on the glass factory floor and among the highest paid of all skilled laborers during the 19th century. It was also the position that glass factory boys aspired towards. Directly in front of the standing boy is most likely the marver - a flat table used for parison manipulation. The caption to the photo is: "Blower and Mold Boy, Seneca Glass Works, Morgantown, W. Va. Location: Morgantown, West Virginia." (Lewis Hine photo, Library of Congress).

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Here's a similar photo ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Speaking of family operated bottling operations ...

Digging for bottles around this Buckman Springs lithia water bottling plant is what got me interested in bottle collecting about 40 years ago. Most of the bottles I found over the years were either chipped or broken, but I still considered them keepers because of their rarity.

This is what the place looked like around the turn of the century ...






And here is all that is left of the place today ...




And here's one of the very few intact bottles I found - but this is a later one from around 1910-15




By the way, I buried a stash of these bottles (chipped examples) in a place near the old bottling plant that no one but me knows the location of, and in a spot that no one is likely to ever dig. I think of it as my personal little treasure trove that will likely still be there a hundred years from now. I put a sealed note in one of the bottles just in case anyone ever does find them.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S.

If future treasure hunters want to attempt to find my buried stash of bottles, this is the only clue to its location that I ever intend to share ...