Historical inquiry is rarely accomplished in a vacuum.  Although the individual historian may spend hours pouring through records in archives, libraries, and on microfilm, she or he must come in occasional (or frequent) contact with other human beings.  These people can make life quite pleasant or, periodically, difficult.  Fortunately, I often encounter the former and, rarely, the latter.

     In this work, I only encountered helpful people--for the most part very helpful people.  Posthumous thanks to Tom Lucky for a series of interviews in 1996.  Although we were primarily discussing Magnolia Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of El Paso, Tom shared with me his memories of the founding of the Alamogordo Coca-Cola Bottling Co.  He died just eleven months after we talked.  Further thanks to Dorothy Lucky, Tom's widow for the photograph of Tom and Hope Smith (along with others) which graces this publication.

     Other former and current managers of the Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola plants and warehouses of Alamogordo--Mike Haines, Kenneth Josselyn, Steve Peacock, and L. W. "Buz" Zink--provided invaluable information about the operation of the plants and warehouses, as did Durwood Jones, founder of Consolidated Bottlers in Roswell.  Robert Callaway (Firestone Tires) shared his boyhood memories of the Hotel Weigele and Crystal Beverage Co., and Leonard Sheffield, whose land speculation included ownership of the building formerly occupied by Crystal, offered building descriptions available from no other source.  My gratitude to you all.

     Photographs of the past are frequently difficult to obtain.  My thanks to Kathy and Lee Gren and Mildred Evaskovich for helping me search for documents and photos at the Tularosa Basin Historical Society (TBHS) museum (including the finding of the photo of the original Coca-Cola plant) and, of course, for publishing my work in The Pioneer.  My gratitude also goes to Mike Haines for providing photos of the (now demolished) original Pepsi-Cola warehouse and to Pete Eidenbach for making me aware of the Hotel Weigele photo in the TBHS collection.

     Thanks also to former bottle collector, Keith Austin, for valuable information about Alamogordo (and other) bottles and other collectors and bottle owners--Kay Denny, Bob Evans, and Viola Salas--for allowing me to observe and/or display their bottles.

     Both libraries in Alamogordo have been especially helpful.  I appreciate the help of the Alamogordo Public Library staff in helping me locate city directories, newspaper articles, and generally answering my endless inquiries with good grace.  Similarly, Lois Knowles at the Townsend Library at New Mexico State University's Alamogordo branch has been invaluable in filling my constant interlibrary loan requests, notably obtaining the Sanford Insurance Maps for this study.  Thanks also to Kimberly D. Russell, Consumer Affairs Specialist, The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta, Georgia, for searching their archives and the staff at the County Clerk's office in the Alamogordo Court House for showing me how to navigate among the deed records.  A final bouquet of gratitude to my wife, Wanda Wakkinen, who listens to my endless speculation and shares in my excitement upon each tiny new discovery.