Hello everyone!
Today as I was wondering around the key room looking for a
key to blog about, I stumbled upon a classic American drink that donated a key
to our collection, or rather a Colorado representative of the famous Cola.
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| Key donated by James A. Gooding Jr. |
This key was added to our collection in 1946, by James A.
Gooding Jr., in honor of his company buying the production and distribution
rights of Dr. Pepper. Gooding was the president of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling
Company located in Denver and provided Pepsi products to most of Colorado. After
the acquisition of Dr. Pepper, he was able to provide Colorado with Pepsi, Diet
Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Patio Orange, Teem, and Dr. Pepper.
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| The Pepsi-Cola logo at the time of the key's donation |
Pepsi was created in 1893 in North Carolina by Caleb Davis
Bradham and became an overnight sensation, debuting as “Brad’s Drink”. By 1898,
the drink had been renamed to its now iconic Pepsi-Cola, supposedly being able
to aid in digestion, but still only being sold as a syrup to mix at home. By
1902 Bradham had formed a corporation under the same name and within the next
two years, the demand for the Pepsi-Cola syrup became so high, Bradham decided
to start bottling a drink premade with the syrup. World War I took a toll on
the company which forced Bradham to sell it, but Pepsi is still one of the most
iconic drinks in America and across the world, despite the ups and downs the
company faced.
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| The founder of Pepsi-Cola, Caleb Davis Bradham |
All of our keys have an interesting story to tell, whether it’s
about a famous person or even a famous drink, so head down to our key room and
come find a story to learn about today!
Written by:
Victoria, Museum Curator
Reference:
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