Same mold, same city, different companies

[SODABOB]

Trying to connect the dots ...

Bob

 

[HunterTheFox59]

Interesting, from my research X-Tra and Min-R-Ize were run out of different bottling plants, so perhaps they owned and operated these companies out of different buildings. By the way I wasn't able to uncover anything else through my research, however the Springfield Republican archives might yield some information. Unfortunately the archives are locked behind a pay wall.

 

[HunterTheFox59]

From the snippet that the archives allow you to see, I came up with these advertisements. I am unsure what product in the advertisements are.

 

[SODABOB]

Hunter

Interesting finds. Does the newspaper site have a free trial option? I have signed up on some similar sites and then just cancelled it before the free trial ended. It's sort of like cheating but they expect a certain number of people not to fully subscribe. If it has a free trial and you don't want to mess with it, let me know and I will subscribe. I already have a subscription with Newspapers.com but it doesn't have any Springfield papers.

If it wasn't for the fact that General Beverage held so many trademarks connected with Springfield I wouldn't keep pursuing it. But there is no denying that there must be a connection of some type. The one thing I cannot find is exactly who they were and whether they were a bottler or just a distributor, or maybe both.

Speaking of trademarks, I found three more ...

Orange Ball - 1939
Sun Ball - 1939
Sans - 1944

The only one I have found a bottle for so far is the Orange Ball. The other two are currently eluding me. Notice on the base of the Orange Ball bottle that it has General Bev. Corp. Springfield, Mass. Have you ever heard of it? It must be rare because I have only been able to find one of them.

Bob

 

[SODABOB]

Orange Ball bottle Cap - Springfield, Mass. - eBay

VINTAGE ORANGE BALL BOTTLING CO SODA POP CORK BOTTLE CAP / CROWN SPRINGFIELD MA | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for VINTAGE ORANGE BALL BOTTLING CO SODA POP CORK BOTTLE CAP / CROWN SPRINGFIELD MA at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

shorturl.at

 

[SODABOB]

Hunter

I just discovered that "Tunes Tiny Tummy's" was a 7-Up slogan from the 1930s - which tells us that the General Beverage Corp. in Springfield must have also bottle 7-Up.

Bob

 

[HunterTheFox59]

Yes I have heard of Orange Ball, I've seen them pop up on ebay before and occasionally in local antique store. They are pretty hard to come by, and if I remember correctly one on ebay sold for 40 or 50 dollars. I saw a black and white one a few days ago in an antique store, but it was in poor condition. Also interesting to learn about the 7up. Some of the city directories I looked at showed there was a 7up plant in Springfield.

 

[SODABOB]

I took another look around and found several more of the Orange Ball bottles. The following link is to one currently on Etsy. It's hard to date them but they are often described as 1950s. What's strange about them is that all or most of them have "Orange Ball Bottling Co Springfield, Mass." on the back. I wonder if that was the same place as the General Beverage Corp?

1967 Orange Ball Orange Ball Bottling Co. Springfield Mass. - Etsy

This Collectible Glass item is sold by Bottlessoldcheap. Ships from Groton, VT. Listed on May 24, 2023

www.etsy.com

Bob

 

[SODABOB]

Hunter

This 1948 Springfield directory listing should confirm that the General Beverage Corp. were bottlers and not just a distributor. Of course they would also have been a distributor in their territory. Even though it doesn't indicate exactly what brands they bottled, when you couple it with the various trademarks (X-Tra - Nocafeen - etc.) along with your 1947 bottles, I think it's safe to assume that they are all connected. Also notice that it list two different addresses - 1061 & 1073 Dwight St. That could tie in with your idea that they may have had more than one building / operation. If nothing else, the listing is a clue that might lead to other clues.

Bob

 

[SODABOB]

This page is from the classified section of the same 1948 directory which list them as beverage manufacturers - so it sounds like they pretty much did everything.

Bob