HOLSTON BOTTLING COMPANY, INC.

The Goodwyn Ice Company apparently decides to get into the bottling business by incorporating the Holston Bottling Company, Inc. on October 17, 1906 with George D. Peters as President, of Bristol, Tenn., B. B. Burns as Vice President, and P. A. Goodwyn as Secretary, both of Bristol, VA.(1) They are bottling Koca-Nola, Hires Root Beer, Dr. Pepper, and various other flavors of soft drinks. Coca-Cola being in the heat of its war to stamp out the "imitators" obviously takes exception to Holston's bottling of Koca-Nola, which was the biggest slap in the face brand at the time as it referred to the rumors that Coca-Cola had cocaine in it. Koca-Nola sold itself with the slogan "The dopeless Cola", so you could see why Dixie would take exception to this particular "imitator" being bottled in their town. To add insult to injury they also bottled another competitor, Dr. Pepper.

The fur started flying during the late spring and summer of 1907 through advertising in the Bristol Herald Courier. First on the scene was Coca-Cola with its accept no imitations ads which Rush responded to with their "Our Cola is the same as any other." ads. Then Holston's first advertisement shows up and Dixie amps up the ads, even suggesting that the other two bottlers didn't have sanitary bottling operations which both rebutted in kind. Rush mysteriously bows out about halfway through the summer; however, he still advertises his Pabst Blue Ribbon distribution.

Dixie escalates again by taking out full page ads listing everything they bottle, touting their sanitary bottling processes, and making sure everyone got that they were the only authorized bottler of the Coca-Cola brand in the area. Not to be outdone Holston takes a full page ad out and a series of different "Bulletins" just to help drive their point home. Things start to die down as winter approaches, only to have Dixie buy out Holston Bottling Company in 1908.(2) If you can't beat the competition fairly then buy them out. As for Rush I have no idea what became of his bottling company, he may have succumbed under pressure, and decided to quit while he was ahead.

This was the location of the Goodwyn Ice Company which would be the home of the Holston Bottling Company for a short period of time between 1907 and 1908

Two bottles from Holston Bottling Company of Bristol, VA

Holston Bottling Company advertising from 1907's cola war

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