-Winona Coca-Cola Bottling Company
[From our Inbox]
All Bottlers; In what has almost become a routine, Mike Elling brought back another load of traditional Coca-Cola products in reusable glass bottles 750 miles away in Winona, Minnesota. That is, you carry up a load of empty bottles and exchange them for full ones. I used a Chrysler van designed to run on the new VEGETABLE OIL (E-85) fuel and got 25 miles to the gallon at turnpike speeds. The local Enterprise car rental facility was pleased that I did so prior to the traffic crush of the Memorial Day weekend.
Traffic was light, and the route was mainly through the farmland of central Illinois and Wisconsin. The only major city I drove around was Madison, Wisconsin. I got there at rush hour, but they have a splendid 6-lane interstate that was clear and fast.
Beverages in reusable bottles is not dead. There are also dairy companies who continue to market product in glass, especially in the Missouri, Illinois, and west Tennessee regions. When you consider the size of the individual plastic bottles children are drinking from today, and compare them to the traditional 6- and 10-ounce soda bottles of a half-century ago, it is no wonder childhood obesity has become a problem! Fortunately, there is still an independent bottler in Minnesota who understands that. And for that I say, YOU BETCHA BY GOLLY !
Photo Caption: Leroy Telstad at new display of Coke bottles from throughout the nation featuring bottom-up embossed city names. Leroy designed and built this display at the Winona Coca-Cola Museum.
--Michael Elling PhotoPhoto Caption: Rented Chrysler Town and Country Van easily hauled 44 cases of glass bottled Coke products at turnpike speeds.
--Michael Elling Photo
This is so sad. I wish we had more bottlers like this that used returnable bottles.
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