Running Collection of Mountain Dew History

[SODAPOPBOB]

This 1948 trademark application was posted on a previous thread which I had saved in my photo gallery. I can't recall if it originated from morbious_fod or celerycola, but believe it was one of them. I thought it would be a good piece of information to add here.

 

[Anthonicia]

ORIGINAL: madman

ONE MORE

Does that say Handy Dandy? They are very cool. Thanks for all the responses everyone.

 

[madman]

HEY MAN IF YA LIKE THE RECIEPTS ILL GET YA SOME LET ME KNOW!

 

[madman]

ORIGINAL: mindmaster

Here are a few pics

HEY RALPH VERY NICE ANY INFO YOU HAVE ON HARTMAN ID LOVE TO HEAR!

 

[morbious_fod]

ORIGINAL: Anthonicia

#4) TIP Corporation Bottle- There are a couple different TIP bottles. This was the TIP bottle used in the 40's and had Grape flavor. TIP made the concentrate's for Tri-City, Hartman, and the various Minges bottlers. They are a part of the controversy because Bill Jones ( I believe) claims to have made the new Dew flavor. Bill Bridgforth and Hoyt Minges also have similar claims.

One thing should be cleared up right now on Bill Jones' claim to have made up the new Dew flavor. The Tip Corporation was given the Mountain Dew trademark by the Hartman Beverage corporation as part of a partnership buy in to the newly restructured Tip Corporation. The president of the Tip Corporation was Bill Jones of Marion, VA. Bill Jones actually owned and controlled the brand unlike Tri-City Beverage (Charlie Gordon and Bill Bridgeforth), who were only franchise holders and never owned the brand (which flies in the face of accepted legend) or were stockholders in the Tip Corporation, as for the Minges, they were shareholders in the company along with Wythe Hull of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Marion, VA, and the Hartman Beverage Corporation of Knoxville, Tennessee. Nothing happened to the formula of Mountain Dew without Bill Jones' expressed permission to do so. All this changing of Mountain Dew's formula by franchise holders on a whim doesn't hold water.

 

[madman]

RIGHT ON BROTHER!

 

[Anthonicia]

I knew I was going to get it from you when I wrote that. Is the story about Barney or Ally going out to eat with Charlie Gordon and giving him rights to mountain dew plausible???

That was before the TIP re-organization right? Morb, we all know that through your extensive research you reserve the right to call out anybody who claims anything about dew. Your theories make a lot of sense and I put way more trust into your claims than Bill Bridforth or any other second, third hand stories.

The truth will lkely never be known. All it leaves us with is a mystery ripe with conspiracy, shady motives, and other back stabbing fodder! It just adds to the allure for me though. Its just like a family moonshine recipe that family's fight over.

I know that Morb has written about all this before and has gotten into all the motives as to why each player would say he is the creator. The TIP Corporation seems to be ressurected by a group of business buddies. It doesn't really add up that tbhey would be bickering about such a thing and just give credit where credit is due...

Idk, but let's keep searching. Maybe more evidence will surface.

Morb, didn't u say u questioned bridgforth about his dads claims and he said that he agreed that it seemed wrong? What was Bridgforths honest theory if he agreed his father did not make the new flavored dew???

 

[morbious_fod]

The accepted stories about Mountain Dew by those who get the most notice, often tend to put the contributions and control of The Tip Corporation in the background as just that guy who happens to own the drink, while his franchises are putting whatever they want into his products bottles. I just wanted to point out that Bill Jones makes the decisions during the period of the creation of the new formula, and nothing happens without his expressed permission.

As for exactly what Charlie had to pay or how he got the franchise, until actual records arise that state how much was paid we are damned to depend upon anecdotal evidence. Dick Bridgeforth has the 1954 Tri-City Beverage franchise agreement listed in his book; however, when you actually read the document pictured it is actually the August 1958 franchise agreement with the Tip Corporation of America, so the records of the original 1954 agreement are either still in the hands of Tri-City Beverage, or the long lost records of Hartman Beverages.

I never broached the subject of the new formula, due to the personal nature of the subject to him, which is why my questioning stuck to the Tri-City bottled first argument. I'm working on the second part of the article which will delve into the real fued in this legend of who created the modern formula, and when.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Hey Morb ~

Speaking of fact vs myth ... what say you in regards to what I have read numerous times about the original bottle label being drawn on a napkin by a high school art student (I can't recall his name) who supposedly had dinner with the Hartman's at a club somewhere back in the 1940s, and then presented the drawing to them for consideration?

Thanks,

SPBOB

 

[madman]

ORIGINAL: SODAPOPBOB

Hey Morb ~

Speaking of fact vs myth ... what say you in regards to what I have read numerous times about the original bottle label being drawn on a napkin by a high school art student (I can't recall his name) who supposedly had dinner with the Hartman's at a club somewhere back in the 1940s, and then presented the drawing to them for consideration?

Thanks,

SPBOB

bob, since i live in knoxville, i decided to do some investigating and found john brichettos wife and son, he said that john was a professional artist, i hope to be talking to his wife soon for THE REST OF THE STORY!and this is only the beginning!