Vernors 150th Annniversary

Sody pop (actually, we just called it ‘pop' in our house when I was a kid) has been a favorite topic on this blog. I’ve written about Wild West Sarsaparilla, Cherikee Red, Wild West Firewater, Pepsi, Vernors, Canada Dry and others.

I tend to buy the diet pops now, and one of them is my old favorite, Vernors. I noticed on my package that the company is celebrating its 150th Anniversary this year.

Vernors even created a special logo featuring Woody, the Vernors gnome, to commemorate the event.

Seeing as it’s going to be pretty hot for the next few days, I may have to make me one of them thar Boston Coolers with my Diet Vernors.

Click here to visit the Vernors website. It’s got some neat images and history of the 150-year-old drink.

And if you happen to live somewhere where Vernors isn’t available, you can always visit the Vernors Store website, which also carries a lot of other Detroit goodies.

Tell’em Woody sent ya.

Woody the Vernors gnome, from a 1960s ad in the Lorain Telephone directory

1949 Cleveland Indians Sketch Book: A Tale of Two Wahoos

Cover of the 1949 Sketch Book
(Courtesy of Gene Biros)

A pal from work recently loaned me a copy of the Cleveland Indians 1949 Sketch Book (above), which came out the season following the team's triumph in the 1948 World Series. For me, the book was a lot of fun to look at – both as a graphic designer and an Indians fan.

What's interesting is that the book contains illustrations of both the earlier version of Chief Wahoo, as well as the modern design that is beloved by Indians fans today. I've scanned some samples from the book to show this transition in progress.

Here's an example. Despite the presence of what we now consider to be the modern Chief Wahoo on the cover of the 1949 book, the title page has the earlier, large-nosed version (below).

That same version of the Chief is found in a great Vernors ad (below) that also features multiple appearances of the iconic soft drink's gnome mascot. 

Here are some more examples of the earlier Chief Wahoo design (below) from the book.

Lastly, here's a unique, head-on view of the more "modern" Chief Wahoo atop a totem pole (below).

If you're interested in learning more about the history of Chief Wahoo, be sure to read this fascinating piece by Brad Ricca.

Ginger Beer Vs. Ginger Ale

You might remember that a few weeks ago, I mentioned Seher's Old English Ginger Beer here in a post. It had been bottled in Lorain, but I had never tried it or any other ginger beer.

Fellow blogger Loraine Ritchey (from That Woman's Weblog) recommended I pick up some ginger beer at World Market and give it a try. I did just that, buying a four pack of Bundaberg Ginger Beer.

What did I think? I thought it was pretty good; very different from ginger ale. It had a very deep, very woody taste. It was a totally different drink than Vernors.

Ironically, I had been feeling a little off earlier that night. Just like Vernors used to settle our stomachs when we were kids, the ginger beer did the same thing.

And the bottle caps were pretty cool. No bottle opener needed, and no twisting. You just pull the tab and the cap popped off.

The funny thing is, the spouse saw me sitting in the easy chair and drinking it, and she didn't recognize the bottle. Since I rarely have any reason to drink a beer since both my father and my father-in-law died, she became alarmed that I was suddenly becoming a booze hound.

There's no chance of that. I'd much rather drink pop.

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Fellow blogger Alan Hopewell mentioned that he couldn't find Vernors down in Texas – and he has my sympathy. Along with Pepsi Throwback, it's my favorite pop.

Vernors used to be headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. It has an interesting origin story and company history, which you can read here on the Vernors website.

Back in 2000, Vernors had a neat promotion. For a limited time, Vernors was available in real glass bottles that were sort of a replica of the old style design we remember as kids. (That's my collectible bottle at left.) As a kid, I thought the gnome on the bottle looked like one of the little men who got Rip Van Winkle drunk.

In the last few years, I wondered if Vernors had changed their recipe, because if I drank it out of a plastic bottle, I never coughed or sneezed – and what fun is that? I discovered that you have to serve it in a glass to get the desired effect – and drink it while it was still popping and fizzing.

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Here's a phone book ad from the early 1960's showing that the Cotton Club Hires Distributing Company handled Vernors in Lorain County.

1960's ad from Lorain phone book

And look what else they distributed: Smarty Ginger Beer. Check out this can from the National Pop Can Collectors website.

Image courtesy www.canogram.com

Those kids look as happy as if they were drinking chocolate milk! I guess ginger beer was more mainstream than I thought!