 |
| Marion Indiana BCN7322 |
The addressee's father John Theodore Rademaker began bottling soft drinks in Marion, Indiana in 1896. J.T. Rademaker's bottling operation moved from 1219 South Branson to 17th & Washington in 1898.
In 1918, Rademaker acquired the franchise to bottle Coca-Cola in Grant County and for the next seven decades, Coca-Cola was produced in a 2-story frame building at 101 East 17th.
After four generations of bottling Coca-Cola in Marion, the business was sold in late 1985. Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Marion, Indiana closed its doors in May 1986 as Coca-Cola celebrated its centennial.
Rademaker Bottler Family:
John Theodore Rademaker (1855-1935)
Joseph Francis Rademaker, Sr (1923-2003)
Joseph Francis Rademaker, Jr (1950-2015)
This is an interesting Friday Day of Issue Cover (FDC) with a Coca-Cola bottling company envelope. The cover is addressed to the young bottler Joe who was 14 years old at the time. His father J.T. had passed away 2 years earlier.
I wonder if Joe was a stamp collector himself or if someone in the family or an associate of the Coca-Cola bottler had sent away for the First Day of Issue cancellation on the company stationery.
The address 1810 S. Boots is just 2 short blocks from the bottling plant at 17th & Washington. Was it the Rademaker residence at the time?
References:
Grant County History
Wiki Marion
Brickwork Project
