When you visit the Station this summer for a tour, be sure to stop by the Lunch Counter and explore the early to mid-century soft drink and mineral spirit bottles in the display case. See the characteristics that make each of these bottles unique! The featured soft drink bottles, below, were recovered from local area scuba divers from the pond behind the McAdam Railway Station (the pond was originally created to provide water for the steam engines). The scuba divers recovered numerous artifacts and provided these to the Station’s Historical Restoration Commission. Most of these artifacts were thought to be used by the Station during its operation. In addition to the soft drink bottles below, were multiple broken Canadian Pacific Railway dishes, porcelain food containers, and even a flask (also located at the Lunch Counter)
Coca Cola Bottle
The embossed contour bottle was mass-produced for decades after being patented in 1915. The main differences between the early embossed bottles compared with present-day embossed bottles are changes in the trademark registration notice and the patent notice on the bottles. The embossed contour bottle is often referred to as the “hobble skirt”. The design was based on an early 19th-century dress that was so narrow below the knees it restricted the movement of the woman who wore the dress, resulting in a hobbling effect when walking (2008).
7-Up bottle
Between 1938 and 1953 with the introduction of ACL (Applied Color Lettering) and the removal of paper labels, the 7-Up company went through some notable changes to its front label. The first label change was to remove the word “Slenderizing” underneath the silhouette of the “bubble girl” (a silhouette of a young woman with arms stretched up with bubbles around her) and included the addition of the “swimsuit” series which had the 7-Up emblem with eight bubbles rising around the emblem, and the same silhouette of the “bubble girl” now in a swimsuit (2007). The second label change was more subtle and resulted in a decrease in the number of bubbles around the emblem from eight to seven as 7-Up’s marketing department thought seven bubbles would be better suited for the brand name of 7-Up (2005). However, the most notable change to the front label during this time period was the removal of the lady in the “swimsuit” series altogether. Can you tell what version is in the photos below?
Sussex Mineral Springs Ltd. bottle
In 1895, S.H. White had a well bored on his Church Avenue property in Sussex, NB, and discovered mineral waters. A short time after his discovery, he partnered with G. Armstrong and marketed and sold this mineral drink under the name of Sussex Mineral Springs Ltd. Mineral water was sold until they started adding carbonation, flavouring, and sugars which resulted in increased sales. In 1929, Sussex Mineral Springs Ltd. merged with a rival bottling company to form Sussex Ginger Ale Ltd. The company then purchased existing soft drink formulas from the Devon-Kist Beverage Co. and produced Sussex Golden Ginger Ale, which is still sold today. The old Sussex Ginger Ale factory is now an apartment complex but is a designated Local Historic Place based on its association with the production of Sussex Ginger Ale (2018).
