Chapter 11c
Trone Bottling Co., Dr Pepper Bottling
Companies, and Duffy's Draft Beverages
Trone Bottling Co. (1950-1951)
Although the Trone Bottling Company was never
listed in the city directories, it was likely founded in 1950 (Directory
of El Paso Manufacturers 1955) [The directory listed a 1950 inception date
for the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company. Dr. Pepper did not open until
1952, so the company probably claimed the Trone inception date as its beginning.]
James H. Trone was first listed in the 1950-51 City Directory, and it is
unlikely that the company existed prior to that time. The firm offered
a drink called, Texan, in five flavors. Although unadvertised, Trone
Bottling Company probably preceded the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company, originally
owned by Trone. Trone died shortly after introducing Dr. Pepper into
the El Paso area, although his widow, Erma Trone, continued to distribute
the five flavors of Texan until at least 1955 when William J. Diebels took
control of the company (EPCD 1950-51-1954; EPT 4/5/1953 B13:4; 4/25/1954
E11:2).
Dr. Pepper Bottling Co. (1952-1956)
When James H. Trone obtained the Dr. Pepper
franchise in 1952, he opened a plant at 7676 Highway 80 East (possibly
the older Trone Bottling Company plant). Trone, however, died the
following year, so his wife, Erma, took over as president of the corporation,
with her son, J. Harold Trone, as vice president. The firm employed
fifteen to twenty people and delivered its products to Hudspeth County
as well as El Paso. Control of the company passed to William J. Diebels
in 1955, and the younger Trone remained as a route supervisor for a year.
Although the reasons are unknown, the business deteriorated, and eventually
Dr. Pepper left the El Paso market (EPCD 1952-1956; EPT 4/5/1953:B13:4).
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| Figure 11c-1 - The New Barq's and Double Cola Bottling
Plant at 1315 W. Main (ca. 1957) [Courtesy of Joe W. Yowell] |
William J. Diebels was an interesting character.
A long-time resident of El Paso, he began his time in the workforce in
1939 as a salesman for the Purity Baking Company. He rose in Purity
to the position of distribution head before entering employment with Woodlawn
Bottling Company as general manager in 1944. Diebels stayed with
Woodlawn until 1950 when he became a salesman for D & R Truck Equipment.
But bottling was in his blood. He was general manager for Nehi-Royal
Crown in 1952, and worked for Duffy's Distributing the following year.
The year, 1954, saw him as general manager of Barq's Bottling Company before
he took over Dr Pepper in 1955 (EPCD 1939-1955). Although no explanation
has been found for the deterioration of Dr Pepper prior to 1957, it was
certainly not caused by Diebels's inexperience.
Barq's Dr. Pepper Bottling Co. (1957-1976)
In 1957, the Yowells bought the Dr. Pepper
franchise, changing the name to Barq's Dr. Pepper Bottling Company.
The defunct Dr. Pepper plant on Highway 80 was abandoned in favor of the
Barq's 1315 West Main Dr. location, closer to the center of town.
John Yowell had a stroke in 1960 that left him partially paralyzed and
confined to a wheelchair. He passed away in 1967, leaving his wife,
Marion, and son, Joe, to run the operation. Joe W. Yowell, born in
1931 and raised in the bottling business, took ever greater responsibilities.
The company obtained Squirt and Dad's Root Beer from Empire in 1969 and
were selling Dr. Pepper and Lipton's Iced Tea in cans by 1970. The
firm continued to grow and expand. At the company's peak, Barq's
trucks ran from Van Horn, Texas, in the east to Lordsburg, New Mexico,
in the west and northward into Silver City, Alamogordo, and Ruidoso.
To keep up with the business, Yowell installed warehouses in Van Horn,
Silver City, and Alamogordo (EPCD 1957-1976; EPTD 1970).
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| Figure 11c-2 - Unpacking Dr Pepper Bottles (ca. 1958)
[Courtesy of Joe W. Yowell] |
Figure 11c-3 - John (left) and Joe Yowell (right) in
1959 [Courtesy of Joe W. Yowell] |
It was too much territory and brought unwanted
problems to Yowell. During World War II, one truck failed to come
back from the New Mexico route. The sheriff at Truth or Consequences
called Yowell to tell him that the truck was sitting on its break drums
in an alley. The driver had sold all the drinks and even the truck
tires, then fled the state. Yowell had had enough. The income
from the additional territory no longer excelled the cost in frustration.
In the late 1960s, he turned over most of the New Mexico Dr. Pepper business
to Joe W. Wolslager of the Coca- Cola Company of San Angelo, Texas.
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| Figure 11c-4 - Leisure time at a convention - (left to
right) Joe W. "Dub" Yowell; Bob Ranselm (Barq's Sales Manager); Jim Larabel
(Pepsi-Cola, El Paso); and the unidentified manager of Pepsi-Cola in Las
Cruces [Courtesy of Joe W. Yowell] |
Dr. Pepper Bottling Co. (1977-1980)
In 1977, Marion and Joe Yowell dropped the
word, Barq's, from the company name and discontinued Barq's products.
Joe Yowell suffered a heart attack on March 17, 1975. He remembered
his father's stroke and death and knew it was time to get out. In
1980, the Yowells accepted a proposition from Magnolia Coca-Cola Bottling
Company to purchase their franchises and bottling equipment. In April
1980, Sam Dell'Olio, representing Magnolia, took charge of the Dr. Pepper
Bottling Company assets, although not the physical bottling plant.
New operations took place at the Magnolia plant, and twelve of Dr. Pepper's
eighteen former employees accepted positions with the new owner.
The sale gave Magnolia control over Dr. Pepper, Big Red, Lipton Tea, Dad's
Root Beer, and Squirt--brands formerly bottled by the Yowell family.
According to Joe "Dub" Yowell, Magnolia now had control of 60% of the soft
drink business in El Paso. The sale marked the end of forty-one years--from
Barq's to Dr. Pepper--of a family-owned business
Joe Yowell and his wife, the former Irma Ramirez
from El Paso, enjoyed retirement. They still own the property on
1315 West Main Dr. which is now occupied by Biodyne Chemicals. Sadly,
Joe's mother, Marion, passed away in August 1994 at the age of 86.
Yowell admits that he misses her--a lot. Still, he remains calmly
philosophical about the fluctuations of the soft-drink business.
Sitting in his comfortable El Paso living room, he recalls "We made a lot
of money-- and we lost a lot of money." Not a bad life to look back
on.
Duffy's Draft Beverage Company (1952-1995)
Although not a bottler, Duffy's Draft Beverages
deserves mention at this point. Started in 1952 by Clinton L. "Bud"
Jones, the company was run by Charles H. Pfeifer and Charles H. Hudspeth
when Yowell was associated with it. Bottling could present enough
headaches when things went wrong, so Yowell farmed out the canning business
for Dr. Pepper to Duffy's. Duffy's also bottled drinks in gallon
jugs and distributed pre-mix fountain syrup in El Paso and throughout the
Southwest for Pepsi Cola from the early 1960s to 1993 when the company
finally disbanded (EPCD 1962-1995; EPTD 1952; Yowell interview) [For more
on Jones's life, see section on Woodlawn Bottling Company.]
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