One of the important memories of my childhood concerned soda (or pop, if you prefer). There was this little soft drink company somewhere near where my grandparents lived that used to make sodas in (what then passed for) unusual flavors and sold them in small 7 oz. bottles. Flavors like lime, grape, black cherry, birch beer, a pungent, spicy ginger ale, cherry cream, vanilla cream... the list seemed to go on and on (though that's probably most of it). This was what would now be called "craft" soda -- the soft drink equivalent of micro-brewed beer. My grandfather would usually go out and get a case of these 7 oz. bottles just before his grandchildren would visit... and enjoying those sodas is something that I clearly associate with rosy memories of time with family as a small child.
That craft soda company is likely gone now... but thanks to the Internet and e-Bay, it is possible for me to connect back to those memories with a little bit of memorabilia. I was able to find a small cardboard sign for the company from the 1950's for sale for only a few dollars. It arrived today. Mrs. Geek has a certain affinity for advertising art... and agrees that this will hang in the kitchen of our new home.
The sign touches me in a ways I can't quite describe. Looking at it, I am taken back to the cool darkness of my grandparents' cellar on fishing for the soda flavor (often cherry cream) that would hit the spot just right. There is also the bright warmth of my grandparents back porch and back yard on many long ago summer days. It is only a sign, I keep thinking... but it is also so much more.
said drgeek
on 2007-08-22 at 9:13 p.m.
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The Wayback Machine - To Infinity And Beyond
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