The Road to Dr Pepper, Texas: The Story of Dublin Dr Pepper
Wright, a former director of Dublin, Texas' Dr Pepper Museum, pulls together everything anyone might want to know about the first Dr Pepper bottling plant, still in operation and drawing thousands of tourists to Dublin every year. The story starts in 1882 when 19-year-old Sam Prin and his cousin B.A. Prin, 21, buy the City Bookstore in Sulphur Springs. Three years later, they put in a soda machine and begin mixing a popular drink called "Dr. Pepper" (the period was later dropped), developed by Waco pharmacist Charles Alderton. Sam sees the mass market potential of soft drinks once they could "bottle it, cap it, preserve its bubbles, and make it widely available and affordable," and so in 1891 he sells his interest in the bookstore, buys a bottling machine and relocates to Dublin. Between his 1891 handshake deal to bottle and sell Dr Pepper to his formal 1925 franchise agreement, Sam's Dublin Bottli2ng Works becomes a success, one which would survive through to the present day. Wright's straightforward story packs in plenty of historical details, following the soft drink business as well as the plant itself, making this a comprehensive read for Dr Pepper and industry fans. 31 b&w; photos.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.