From Richard Mix : Please be sure to check out our eBay auctions - lots of great stuff --click here to see --

Be sure to send me your UP FOR GRABS item listings! E-mail to: Up For Grabs 

From Jeff Cummins : I am looking for the following 7Up commemorative bottles to complete my collection: Bob Williams retiree; Mike Hogan retiree; and Superstars Two Man Tag Team Wrestling. All three are 16oz, and from the 1970s. The Williams and Hogan bottles came out of Columbus, Ohio and saluted longtime employees. The Wrestling bottle is from 1977.

From Esma Irvine : I am looking for old bottles from Bogalusa, La., especially square, dated 1923 or round, dated December 25th, or round bottles made by Root Bottling Company, New Orleans that have Bogalusa on the side. Info appreciated.

From Kevin McKinney : Wanted: a Poteau, Okla. Pat'D 1915 Coca-Cola bottle in any condition. Also want Pat'd 1915 Cokes from Hobart, Mangum, Vinita, Atoka, Alva, Anadarko, Cushing, Pauls Valley, Stroud, Woodward and Idabel. I am also looking for Pat'd 1923 Coca-Cola bottles from Idabel, Stigler and Henryetta. Contact: (214) 368-8725, 6031 Pineland Dr, Dallas, TX 75231.

From Charles Head : Want to buy: Koca-Nola bottles and go-withs. Contact: PO Box 907, Bridgeport, AL 35740; or Phone: 256-437-0399.

Do you have a particular item, or items, that you have been looking for a long time to complete part of your collection, or something you want - but have not as yet been able to find? Send it so all of us can help you look. You never know where it may turn up! E-mail it to My Missing Item

Antiques Roadshow Unveils Summer 2003 Tour
Antiques Roadshow has announced its summer 2003 Tour destinations: Savannah, Georgia (July 12); Chicago, Illinois (July 26); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (August 9); and San Francisco, California (August 16). The most interesting finds from each city will be taped this summer for broadcast in 2004. < Click here > to read the complete article online.

Ask the Appraiser Announces New Affiliate Program
CollectingChannel.com's popular online appraisal service "Ask the Appraiser" (ATA) has established an Affiliate Program so you can earn a referral fee by directing appraisal traffic to Ask the Appraiser by means of a link on your website. 

Minneapolis-based PepsiAmericas Inc., the second largest bottler of Pepsi-Cola branded drinks, has announced that it is to cut 530 jobs in a bid to meet its earnings targets for the year. The company said that around half of the job cuts would come from the elimination of currently unfilled positions and that it would take a one-off charge in relation to severance payments.

Coke March Madness is on @ http://www.cokemadness.com. You can participate in several online contests including: Coke Madness E-mail Challenge, Tournament Bracket Challenge, Watch & Win, and more. You can also get the latest scores and other information for the NCAA Championship as the teams advance through the final four. For more information, visit the website.

New bottles or cans, or anything soda, in your area ?
Please send the info so all of us can know @ Whats New

April 11-12 (Friday-Saturday) Chehalis, Washington
Washington Bottle Collectors Association's Annual Show & Sale
(Sat. 9 AM - 5 PM, early admission Fri. 2 PM - 7 PM)
at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, Chehalis, Washington
INFO: WARREN LHOTKA, 905 24th Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98144, E-mail: wlbottleguy@yahoo.com 
or ROBIN HARRISON, PH: (206) 522-2135, E-mail: robin@w-link.net 

April 12 (Saturday) Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo Antique Bottle Club's 24th Annual Show & Sale
(Sat. 9 AM - 3 PM) at the Kalamazoo County Fairgrounds
2900 Lake St. (I-94 exit 80), Kalamazoo, Michigan
INFO: JOHN PASTOR, PH: (616) 285-7604, E-mail: pastor2000msn.com@net-link.net 
or MARK McNEE, PH: (616) 343-8393, E-mail: prostock@net-link.net 
Website: http://www.prostockdetectors.com/kazooshow.html 

April 13 (Sunday) Cirencester, England
Cirencester Bottle & Collectors Fair
(Sun. 11 AM - 3 PM, early admission 9 AM)
at the Bingham Hall, King Street, Cirencester, England
INFO: KEITH WATT, 9 Purley Road, Cirencester, Glos., GL7 1EP, England
PH: 011-44-1285 652142

April 13 (Sunday) Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota's First Antique Bottle Club and North Star Historical Bottle Association's 32nd Annual Show & Sale
(Sun, 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM) at the Days Inn
1901 Killebrew Dr. (nest to the Mall of America), Bloomington, Minnesota
INFO: DOUG SHILSON, 3308 32nd Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55406
PH: (612) 721-4165, E-mail: bittersdug@aol.com 
or STEVE KETCHAM, Box 24114, Edina, MN 55424, PH: (952) 9204205
E-mail: s.ketcham@unique-software.com 

April 13 (Sunday) Portland, Maine
New England Antique Bottle Club's 37th Annual Show & Sale
(Sun. 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM, early admission 8:30 AM) 
at the Italian Heritage Center, 40 Westland, Ave., Portland, Maine
INFO: GERRY SIROIS, 89 New York Ave., South Portland, ME 04106, PH: (207) 773-0148 
or JACK PELLETIER, PJ: (207) 839-4389

Springtime in Atlanta - April 16-19, 2003
at the Crowne Plaza, Atlanta, GA
For information, E-mail Karleen : GACOKE@aol.com 
Events will include: Regular Auction, Silent Auction, Swap Meet, Brunch & Banquet.

Branson: Fall Fever in the Ozarks October 23 - 25, 2003, at the Settle Inn Branson, MO
Arkansas & Oklahoma's Green Country Chapters will be co-sponsoring the first ever Coca-Cola event in Branson. For information email Ken: beartul@earthlink.net 

Early American Pattern Glass Society Meets April 25-27
The Early American Pattern Glass Society (EAPGS) will hold its annual meeting in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on April 25-27, 2003. The annual meeting coincides with the Eastern National Antiques Show, one of the largest glass-related shows in the country. <Click here> for more information.

June 21, 2003 - Houston, Texas (9am - 4pm)
Gulf Coast Bottle & Jar Club presents their 34th Annual Antique Bottle, Advertising and Collectibles Show and Sale - at the Marriott (formerly Radisson Hotel) 9100 Gulf Freeway, Houston, Texas 77017 (713)943-7979. Admission $2. Early admission Friday night June 20th - 7-10:30 pm - $10. per person. Wide variety of bottles, cans, fruit jars, inks, milk bottles, drug store collectibles - Coca Cola - Dr. Pepper - 7 UP - Orange Crush, Texas memorabilia, oil company items, and lots lots more!!!!!!!!
For Sales Table and Show Information, please contact Barbara Puckett, 907 W. Temple, Houston, TX 77009, (713) 862-1690 or e-mail for information - bjcoll@hotmail.com or red1@wt.net.

Annual Heart of Ohio Bottle and Jar Show, November 16, 2003, from 9:30 to 3:00. Held the same weekend as the Springfield Antique Show at the world's largest antique mall, the Heart of Ohio Antique Center, I-70 at US 40 (Exit 62), just East of Springfield, Ohio. 60 tables. Free admission. For information, write John Bartley, PO Box 53, North Hampton, Ohio 45349, phone (937)964-8080 or email jbartley@woh.rr.com. 

Any new events  in your area? E-mail it so all of us can know, to: Upcoming Events

Hi, I made it from Singapore to USA without any major problems, just a very long flight which tired me out. More next week.
From me, CG

Two men sat in the lobby of a hotel in Bowling Green, Ohio in the early summer of 1887. Both were businessmen were from out of town, and in Bowling Green for the same reason - looking for a site to locate a new factory.

Neither were competitors -one had an option on some old rolling mill equipment that he wanted to re-locate and operate in Bowling Green. The other was from upstate New York where his company's glass factory had burned down, and he was looking for a place to start a operation where there was a cheap source of fuel, which Bowling Green had.

Towns lucky enough to be located over a gas pocket were competing with each other, trying to entice companies to build factories that would turn their small towns into thriving industrialized cities. Such things as free gas, low taxes and cash were all part of the offerings. It was the classic win-win situation and the city leaders would give the factories fuel and incentives - in turn, the factories would employ workers by the hundreds. 

The only problem was the up-front expense for the incentives and the city leaders were not interested in shelling out money from their own pockets for the free land or the cash enticements. So - they turned to the obvious source - the public coffers. This was not entirely unethical, as the additional jobs, homes and factories would result in more taxes being collected, as well as increased business for the local merchants.

The plan worked in theory, but not always in practice. The Bowling Green city leaders were having problems floating a bond to raise the money to buy the land. The new bond would raise property taxes, and the existing landowners were against it, which resulted in a stand-off. 

Each of the two businessmen was staying at the same local hotel, and had made their case to the committee of councilmen. Each had been told that the request would be considered, and that the committee would get back with them at a later date. Both men were still waiting.

As the two sat waiting, the town bell rang. One said to the other, "Mr. Giles, maybe that means my case is to be acted upon." The other replied, "Sir, I have been in Bowling Green for a week, and that sound has become very familiar to me. You likely will hear it many times before they decide anything on your case."

A week later, Mr. Frank C. Ball of Buffalo, New York had indeed become familiar with the sound of the town bell. So, when a telegram was delivered to him inviting him to consider Muncie, Indiana before making a decision on Bowling Green, he seized the opportunity, and the rest is history.

Frank and his four brothers built their glass factory in Muncie, which was intended to be a branch operation until their return "home" to Buffalo. But the brothers, who were all single at that time, met and married local women. The Buffalo operations were eventually closed and Muncie became the fruit jar capital of the world.

And whatever happened to the other man waiting in the hotel lobby? The rolling mill went bankrupt before it became operational and John S. Giles bought the equipment of the closed Crystal City Glass Company in Bowling Green and moved it to Redkey, Indiana. He brought in H. H. Clough and formed the Giles-Clough Company. In 1897, William Buttler bought out Gile's share and the company was renamed after its new hometown, the Redkey Glass Company.

Giles-Clough and Redkey were both competitors of Ball Brothers in the fruit jar business, making the Fruit Keeper GCCo and the Redkey Mason, among others. Ball managed to survive, but Redkey Glass did not. Following a fire in April of 1902, it was decided that the failing gas supply did not warrant rebuilding the plant, and the glass-making equipment was sold.

The version of the Bowling Green hotel lobby incident is taken from Frank C. Ball's Memoirs. John S. Giles is an interesting figure in glass history, and deserves a story of his own.

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 Idea

Until next week, Happy Collecting! CokeGirl