Chapter 12i
The Small Bottlers
Border
Beverage Co. and its Bottles
Border Beverage Company, Inc. (1920-1922)
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| Figure 12i-4 - El Paso Times, 7/15/1920 |
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| Figure 12i-1 - El Paso Times, 5/31/1920 |
The Border Beverage Company was incorporated in
1920 to cater to a public that (they hoped) wanted to at least recapture
the taste of beer. The company, located at 800 S. Oregon, designated
itself as "Manufacturers and Bottlers of Aerated Beverages" and offered
soda fountain syrups and supplies as well as bottled drinks. Under
the leadership of B. Rush Person, corporate president, Border identified
itself as "Bottlers of aerated beverages and soda fountain syrups and supplies"
and advertised drinks called Bone-Dry (brewed by Houstoun Ice and Brewing
Association) and Graino (from the Dallas Brewery) and Graino, "A CEREAL
BEVERAGE." The company's first Graino ad appeared in the March 31,
1920, issue of the El Paso Herald. In 1921, the company touted Graino
as "A REFRESHING, NUTRITIOUS AND NON-INTOXICATING CEREAL BEVERAGE."
The Prohibition-era public apparently wanted more than just the taste of
beer, as the Border Beverage Company was no longer listed in the city directories
after 1922 (EPCD 1920-1922).
Benjamin R. Person arrived in El Paso
about 1915 and worked for Quick Tire Service, Incorporated in 1916.
The following year he made a transformation, common in the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries, into B. Rush Person and became the representative
for Waye Oil Tank & Pump Company, distributors of gasoline pumps, tanks,
air compressors, etc. He became manager of Border Beverage Company
in 1920 but continued to represent Wayne. The following year he made
a decision that may have been unwise. Dropping his connection with
Wayne, he devoted his full time to Border Beverages, which, despite his
attention, was liquidated in 1922 (EPCD 1915-1922).
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| Figure 12i-3 - El Paso City Directory, 1920 |
Figure 12i-4 - El Paso City Directory, 1921 |
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