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Saturday, June 6, 2009

Coca Cola Day Another Liberty Fest Event

In honor of one of Georgia's greatest claims to fame, being known as the "Birthplace of Coca-Cola", the Lawrenceburg Beautification Board has designated Thursday, July 2nd as "Coca-Cola Day in Lawrenceburg" as part of this year's 8th Annual Libertyfest Celebration. Activities are planned at First Farmers and Merchants Bank from 11:00am until 1:00pm, on July 2nd, where Coke products and other great door prizes will be given away, and at Coleman Memorial United Methodist Church later that same evening where an Old Fashioned Hamburger & Ice Cream Fundraiser will be held, complete with Coke Floats, from 5:00pm until 7:00pm.

The invention and marketing of Coca-Cola is one of America's best success stories. From its origin as an tasty elixir inspired by the Vin Mariana, a European cocawine, to today's drink which contains coca flavoring - Coca-Cola, the mother of all soft drinks is sold in more than 200 countries today. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia, and continues to be bottled right here in our own state, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

"I'd like to teach the world to sing" - "It's the real thing" - "Always, Coca-Cola"!! These slogans are all very familiar to us and will go down in history as some of the greatest marketing tools ever created. It didn't hurt matters that they were used to market everyone's favorite soft drink which had been around since 1885 when Mr. John Pemberton invented it in Columbus, Georgia. By 1888, three versions of Coca-Cola - sold by three different companies - were on the market. Asa Griggs Candler acquired a stake in Pemberton's company in 1887 and incorporated it as the Coca-Cola Company in 1888.

Coca-Cola was sold in bottles for the first time on March 12, 1894. The first outdoor wall advertisement was painted in the same year in Cartersville, Georgia. Cans of Coke first appeared in 1955. The first bottling of Coca-Cola occurred in Vicksburg, Mississippi, at the Biedenharn Candy Company in 1891. Asa Candler was tentative about bottling the drink, but two entrepreneurs from Chattanooga, Tennessee, Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whtiehead, proposed the idea and were so persuasive that Candler signed a contract giving them control of the procedure for only one dollar. Candler never collected the dollar, but in 1899, Chattanooga became the site of the first Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

Coke concentrate, or Coke syrup, was and is sold separately in pharmacies in small quantities, as an over-the-counter remedy for nausea or a mildly upset stomach.

When launched, Coca-Cola's two key ingredients were cocaine (benzoylmethyl ecgonine) and caffeine. The cocaine was derived from the coca leaf and the caffeine from kola nut, leading to the name Coca-Cola (the "K" in Kola was replaced with a "C" for marketing purposes). Not to worry!! The coca leaf was removed in 1903 and today's Coca-Cola has no traces of cocaine or any kind of drug. Its exact formula, however, is a famous trade secret. The original copy of the formula is held in SunTrust Bank's main vault in Atlanta. Its predecessor, the Trust Company, was the underwriter for the Coca-Cola Company's initial public offering in 1919. A popular myth states that only two executives have access to the formula, with each executive having only half the formula. On April 23, 1985, amid much publicity, Coca-Cola attempted to change the formula of the drink with "New Coke". The new Coca-Cola formula caused a public backlash. Protests caused the comapny to return to the old formula under the name Coca-Cola Classic on July 10, 1985.

Anne Morrow, Festival coordinator, made the following statement concerning the Beautification Board's decision to honor Coca-Cola, "In researching interesting facts associated with the state of Georgia, we decided that celebrating one of Georgia's greatest claims to fame - The home of Coca-Cola - was something everyone in our community could relate to and enjoy. I don't know anyone anywhere who isn't familiar with how refreshing an ice cold Coke is on a hot day! Like many of you, I grew up drinking Coca-Cola - both my grandmothers thought it was the cure-all for every illness. In fact, to this day I still think I need to drink a Coke when I don't feel well. It is truly imbedded in America's culture, and we thank the Great State of Georgia for making this legendary drink continue to be an great success."

"Patience Smith, the Coca-Cola representative for our area, has been so helpful in planning our tribute to Coke. Coca-Cola supplied all our Libertyfest banners this year, and they are also supplying Coke products for us to give away at First Farmer's & Merchants Bank on Thursday, July 2nd, and Coke products for our "Old Fashioned Hamburger & Ice Cream Social" on Thursday evening, July 2nd, at Coleman Church. We are most appreciative to them for supporting this year's Libertyfest Celebration."

"Miss Courtney Shelton, who is a 2008 Coca-Cola Scholar, is our Libertyfest Queen this year. Miss Courtney and her Court - Sarah Marston, Allison Staggs, Emily Ziobro, Margaret Horn, and Caitlyn Shelton - will be at the events on July 2nd and also all the events throughout the festival."

"This year's "Libertyfest on the Square" & "Libertyfest at LCHS" will also be "Coca-Cola" events, with all vendors selling Coca-Cola exclusively. For more information, please call 762-7617."

 

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