From Me, CokeGirl : "I am still clearing out some of the duplicate items in my own collection on eBay. I have added some different things, as I have found them, click <<HERE>> to see what I have listed so far. Also, feel free to email me with any questions."

Found @ eBay
Yep, I have been at it again - watching things going on at eBay! Have you? 
Want to see what I found this time ? Begin  << HERE >>
Also, some of what I have added to my collection in the past month, or so. If you want to see, go <HERE>

After 11 years of teasing parched New Yorkers, the animated Coca-Cola sign in Times Square is dark. Eventually it  will be replaced by a more advanced-looking Coke display. Workers began removing thousands of light bulbs and other small parts of the sign last week, and will start to dismantle the large sections soon. The job is expected to be finished by late November. The company is closely guarding designs for the new sign, which will be built there in 2003.

The Coca-Cola Company and The Marcus Foundation announced on Thursday that The Jerde Partnership International, an architecture firm responsible for some of the world's most successful urban revitalization projects, will develop the master site plan for the 20-acre property in downtown Atlanta that will be the future home to The Georgia Aquarium and the new World of Coca-Cola. The event is free and open to the public.

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Coca-Cola 2003 Calendar Artwork by Jim Harrison Meadwesvaco; ISBN: 0768846870; Wall edition

The Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company, which serves Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, is celebrating 100 years of delivering Coca-Cola to counties throughout the Greater Philadelphia Region.

In 1900, B. F. Thomas left Chattanooga, Tennessee and opened an experimental Coca-Cola bottling operation at 19th and Carpenter in Philadelphia for the summer months of June through August, making his deliveries by horse and wagon.

Encouraged by the results of the year before, Thomas asked Early W. Adams to assume responsibility for the Philadelphia operation, giving him 55% interest, but no salary. The first run produced 10 cases of Coca-Cola, which Adams and his associates distributed in Center City, south of City Hall, from 12th to 17th Streets. Of those first ten cases, only one was sold for cash. The others were given to stores on the promise that if the beverage sold, Adams would return with more Coca-Cola, and a contract. 

Working out of the temporary plant at 922 S. 19th Street, Adams' territory consisted of a 50-mile radius around Philadelphia, and an 18-mile radius surrounding Camden. In 1903, Adams moved the operation to a new location on Christian Street, but soon moved again, for a larger building, at the corner of 10th and Diamond. The operation remained at this location until 1914, when it moved again, this time to 2040 N. 10th Street. 

Three years later, in 1917, The Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company opened plants in Coatesville and Bethlehem, in addition to its original plant at Diamond and 10th. Two years later, in 1919, E. W. Adams sold The Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company to Mr. George S. Derry, of the Baltimore Beverage Company.

At this time, the company was serving less than 1000 retail outlets and had a capacity of 76 bottles per minute, producing 103,000 cases annually.

In February of 1920, Derry, sensing the necessity for a larger facility, purchased 2126-2130 Market Street. The new plant had machinery with a capacity of 200 bottles per minute and by the end of the year, 250,605 cases had been delivered, and by 1928, the Company had provided retailers with $84 iceboxes. Three years later, a new plant was constructed at 33rd and Reed Streets.

It was also in 1931 that Derry was admitted to the "100,000 Gallon Club", which was quite an achievement considering his 'territory' consisted of: the City of Philadelphia, the City of Camden, plus Montgomery, Bucks, Berks, Chester counties, and some small portions of Delaware County and Lancaster County.

WWII delayed a needed second plant, for which land had been purchased at Erie and Castor Avenues. But by 1948, the long-awaited and much-anticipated building was designed by Jesse M. Shelton of Atlanta. The next year, Derry was awarded the American Bottlers' of Carbonated Beverages Medal of Industry "for promoting organization and constructive achievement in the bottled carbonated beverage industry."

By 1952, the company's volume was 586,000 gallons. The following year, George Derry sold his stock in the Company to Associated Coca-Cola Bottling Plants, Inc., with Chapman S. Root as the President. In 1965, the Company moved from Camden to Moorestown, and in 1971, the territories for Atlantic City and Brighton, in New Jersey, were purchased. In 1979, the territories for Blackwood and Marmora, also in New Jersey, were added. 

In 1982, The Coca-Cola Company purchased Philadelphia Coca-Cola from Associated Coca-Cola Bottling Plants, Inc., and sold it one year later to Coca-Cola New York. Two years later, Bruce Llewellyn and a small group of investors, including famous sports legend "Dr. J" Julius Erving. purchased Philadelphia Coca-Cola from Coca-Cola New York. 

Mr. Llewellyn and his wife, Shahara Ahmad-Llewellyn, a Philly native and also the Vice Chairperson of the bottling operation, run the business today with a team led by President and Chief Operating Officer Ron Wilson. Through their leadership, the company has reached new heights.

Today, the bottler employs more than 1,200 people and is the 4th largest Coca-Cola bottling company in North America. It now sells over 30 different products including Coca-Cola, diet Coke, Sprite, Dasani bottled water, Frutopia, and Nestea iced tea beverages, among many others. The bottling plant today can produce more than 1,700 bottles per minute and is one of the largest soft-drink bottling facilities in the country at 635,000 square feet. Combined with a second plant in Moorestown, New Jersey, the two facilities produce nearly 35 million cases each year.

The Philadelphia Coca-Cola bottling company is the third largest minority-owned business in the United States. It is the fourth largest Coca-Cola bottler in North America. And this year is its 100th Birthday.

Happy Birthday Philly Coke ! 

If you have a soda-related subject that you would like to see here as an "FYI" article, or have information you yourself would like to contribute, don't be shy, send it to: FYI@thesodafizz.com

Until next week, Happy Collecting! CokeGirl