Soda pop and Dixie

Vicksburg, MS – One of the neatest parts about traveling is discovering the answer to questions you never really asked, but always wondered about.  Today we learned two such answers!

Our first visit of the morning was to the Museum of Coca-Cola History and Memorabilia. One of Vicksburg’s native sons got the bright idea, in 1894, of putting this new soda fountain confection into individual bottles so that people in the country didn’t have to drive into town for a taste.  Up to that moment, Coca-Cola – and any other soda fountain drink – was only available on tap.  Joseph A. Biedenharn changed the soft drink industry forever.

The first bottles our friend Joseph used were sealed with a plug with a metal rod looped through it.  When drawing on the loop, the stopper would come out with a popping sound.  And that, dear readers, is where the term “soda pop” first originated!  Isn’t that wonderful?

The museum had samples of that first bottle, as well as a number of other designs before the iconic “Mae West” shape came into use.  Wooden machinery for bottle-washing was also on display, as well as every ping-pong paddle, tray, lunch box, ashtray or other doo-dad with the famous logo that was ever made.  One of Joseph’s friends hand-lettered the first Coca-Cola logo, with its two swirling C’s, and it hasn’t changed from that day to this.

Joseph not only came up with a unique distribution idea, but he also insisted that advertising would be essential to keep the product going, despite the large public appetite.  Others said Coca-Cola would sell itself, but Joseph was ahead of his time.

Vicksburg has two scenic routes which bring tourists to all the main points of interest throughout the town, so we followed both.  We passed gracious antebellum mansions, railway yards, and less affluent parts of town.  We stopped to visit the Old Court House Museum, where a fascinating collection of items from the earliest times are on display, many donated by local families. Confederate President Jefferson Davis launched his political career from this building.

In one display case were examples of paper money, including bank notes from Louisiana printed in English on one side and in French on the other.  The ten-dollar note, on the French side, says “dix”, and in Mississippi, when the merchants would sail north from New Orleans, it was said they had their pockets full of “dixies”.  In time, the people and the region all acquired that name as well.  Something else I never knew and often wondered about!

We visited the cemeteries of Confederate and Union soldiers – where a total of 20,000 Civil War soldiers, known and unknown, have been laid to rest – more than in any other place in the US.  Next, we stopped at the Cedar Grove Mansion, a grand house built in 1840 which is used today as an inn and restaurant.  The self-guided tour gave glimpses of the genteel lifestyle of some of Vicksburg’s more affluent residents.