CHERO-COLA OF CLEVELAND, VA

The Chero-Cola Bottling Company of Cleveland, VA was operational during the 1920's under the ownership of the Gilbert Family of the same town.(2) It was located near the rail road tracks, and may very well have been located in the building that now houses the town hall. According to Kathy Shearer's book "Cleveland on the Clinch" Bruce Gilbert was the salesman for the company, Paul Gilbert was "book keeper", and Haney Gilbert was the driver for deliveries.(2) The bottles used by the company were the Chero-Cola pyramid deco Soda Water bottle pictured below, and according to the August 31, 1927 receipt published in Shearer's book they bottled Chero-Cola, Grape-Melo, Orange-Melo, Nehi Strawberry, and Nehi Lemon Lime. The Melo brand was the precursor to the famous Nehi flavor line (3) which the company is quite famous for, as can be ascertained by this receipt the change over to Nehi wasn't complete by this point for the main corporation in Columbus, GA. The bottling company was still in operation as of July 1931(1); however, Shearer's source confirmed what I expected all along, that the Depression ended this company as it did many others.(2) Unfortunately this company is one of only two that are known of in Russell County's history, the other being a very early bottler from Castlewood, VA.

Chero-Cola Soda Water bottle from Cleveland, VA, date unknown

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