Robert Woodruff, Coca-Cola and Atlanta

Living here in Atlanta I see the Robert Winship Woodruff name in many places. After all he did a great deal for Atlanta and the world. Mr. Woodruff was president of The Coca-Cola Company from 1923 to 1954, and continued with the Company into the 1980’s. The company prospered under his guidance and he passed on his earnings as a major philanthropist.

  He played a major role in the development of the Centers for Disease Control. Some other things were the Woodruff Arts Center, Robert Woodruff Scout Reservation, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and the Winship Cancer Center. (The Winship Cancer Institute is part of The Robert W. Woodruff Science Center of Emory University.) Emory College has prospered with his donations and the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation is still supporting charitable, scientific and educational activities.

 Now an exhibit of Robert W. Woodruff and his life are on display at the Robert W. Woodruff Library’s Schatten Gallery, located at 540 Asbury Circle, Atlanta, Georgia. (At Emory University Campus)

It will be on display from October 14^th to March 25^th, 2011 and is free and open to the public.  The exhibit is entitled; “The Future Belongs to the Discontented: The Life and Legacy of Robert W. Woodruff”.

 It is believed that Mr. Woodruff had a form of dyslexia and left no personally written journals or documents.  The majority of information on display came from friends and associates reminiscing what he said.  Also included in the display are photographs and papers from the Woodruff papers.

 I hope to attend the exhibit in the near future. If you are in the Atlanta area OR are coming for a visit, I highly recommend checking out this exhibit.

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Why Did I Write a book on Coca-Cola Bottles?

In the many years of collecting bottles I had come across a lot of great information on Coca-Cola bottles. My book started out simply as a ‘Quick Reference Guide’ for my family and me. I needed to know what bottles I did not have in my collection, and my family always asked what type of bottles I needed to add to my collection.  So, I began to categorize the bottles. Bottle collectors had already divided the embossed bottles from the 1890’s to the 1960’s into separate categories for me. Also, much had been written about the embossed bottles and information was easy to come across.

The ACL bottles from the 1950’s to the 1990’s were never really separated, so I divided them by year and style of bottle. There had been very little written about the ACL bottles and much research on my part had to be done.

All that information was compiled into a Reference Guide. After giving copies to my family I realized that this guide was a great help. My family knew little about the various bottles, but after reading the guide they were able to identify the bottles and locate many hard to find bottles.

 But, the guide was missing a lot of information on the various sizes Coke offered through the years and paint style changes. That led me to do more research.

I gathered information from several places. I went to these sources for this information:

1. Coca-Cola Archives
2. Coca-Cola Bottling Company Employee’s
3. Glass Manufacturing Plant Employee’s
4. Fellow Bottle Collectors
5. The Coca-Cola Collectors Club members
6. The bottle themselves (I compiled a computer database)

 

To compile the computer database I began to record the year a bottle was manufactured from the Glass Company markings on the bottle. I also noted any changes or variation in text, text size, and paint scheme, City/ State markings of the bottles.

The Coca-Cola Archives held a wealth of information, but there were never any records kept of when a certain size bottle was discontinued. By recording the information from every Coke bottle I had ever seen I could pinpoint the year a bottle began production and when the design was changed.

 All of the other information from the many people I have interviewed from Coca-Cola Employee’s to collectors needed to be recorded and shared. There were many interesting facts I had never seen in print before.

 Shortly after writing the reference guide for my personal use, I began to realize the information I had gathered needed to be shared. I began to fill the gaps of information I had by asking questions of everyone I knew who collected or worked with Coca-Cola.

 I discovered many great bottles I had never seen before.  I have tried to include everything I have found out in one source.

  As with any research there are always sources that contradict each other’s facts. Many sources did not agree on years bottles were produced, etc. I tried to go with the most reliable source and if all else failed referred to the computer database I had compiled for specific information on changes in the bottle design.

  The book has been a great success and I have heard a great deal of positive feedback on it.  They make a great gift. I am gearing up for the Christmas season and as a ‘Thank You’ for all of you who follow my blog I will offer FREE shipping in the U.S.  When you place your order, just mention my blog and I will pay for the shipping costs!

Thank you!