John W. Yowell was a man of courage.
He demonstrated his fortitude by starting the Barq's Bottling Company at
the beginning of World War II and showed his tenacity by surviving the
sugar shortage caused by the conflict. An outgrowth of the Trone
Bottling Company, the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company came along more than
a decade later, picking up the noted soft drink formerly bottled by the
Empire Products Corporation. Yowell bought out his competitor in
1957, creating the Barq's Dr. Pepper Bottling Company that franchised both
drinks. In 1977, the company discontinued Barq's products and finally
sold to Magnolia Coca-Cola Company in 1980.
Barq's Bottling Co. (1939-1956) and Double Cola Bottling
Co. (1955-1956)
Barq's Root Beer was originated by Edward
Barq in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1898 and was first bottled by the Biloxi
Artesian Bottling Works. Although root beer was never as popular
as the cola products, Barq's nevertheless spread throughout the United
States and branched out with flavors such as Grape, Moon-Glo, Imitation
Strawberry, and red creme soda. The main company, Barq's, Inc., is
currently located in New Orleans, Louisiana (Beverage World 1995-1996 DATABANK
253).
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| Figure 11a-1 - Barq's Employees in 1939 - John W. Yowell
(far left); his son, Joe W. "Dub" Yowell (far right) [Courtesy Joe W. Yowell |
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| Figure 11a-2 - Barq's Employees in front of the first
plant at 906 Texas (1939) [Courtesy of Joe W. Yowell] |
John W. Yowell was born in 1905. Interestingly,
Barq's root beer was first produced the year after his birth (Riley 1958:260).
Yowell was no stranger to the bottling industry before he moved to El Paso.
He had worked for Moreland, owner of the Dr. Pepper plant in Abilene and
had been production manager there for Coca-Cola. In 1939, Yowell
borrowed $5,000 from E. P. Mead in Abilene and migrated to El Paso to introduce
Barq's beverages to the area. He opened his first plant at 906 Texas
Ave. Barq's Bottling Company advertised their products as "All Nature
Captured in a Bottle" (EPTD 1940; Yowell interview. Unless otherwise
cited, information on Barq's, Barq's Dr. Pepper, the second Dr. Pepper
Company, the Yowell family came from the interviews.). Despite sugar
shortages brought about by World War II, the company prospered and expanded,
with Yowell buying Barq's Bottling Plant of Albuquerque from the plant's
previous owners, R. S. Filed, Jr., J. T. Haney, and Joseph Borden in 1940,
but the plant was only listed in the city directories of 1939-40 and 1941-42
(NMSBD 1940-41; Roswell City Directory 1939-40, 1941-42), in 1940.
The Herald Post noted that "Mr. Yowell said that the prospect for the future
of the soft drink business in the Southwest were very bright." (EPHP 10/7/1941
3:1). Yowell's brother, Russell, ran the Albuquerque plant for several
years before becoming sick and moving to East Texas. The family continued
to expand establishing a Barq's plant in Artesia and an Orange Crush plant
in Abilene.
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| Figure 11a-3 - The Dixie Bottle Filler at 906 Texas
(ca. 1939) [Courtesy of Joe W. Yowell] |
Figure 11a-4 - John W. Yowell and the Barq's Service
Truck (ca. 1940) [Courtesy of Joe W. Yowell] |
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| Figure 11a-5 - An Orange Crush Truck brings its product
to the 315 E. Missouri Plant (ca. 1945) [Courtesy of Joe W. Yowell] |
Figure 11a-6 - The Barq's Plant at Artesia, New Mexico
(1945) [Courtesy of Joe W. Yowell] |
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