Dr. Pepper's origins?

[NW Mailing List]

I recall Dr. Pepper as being "only a Southern pop" like Nehi. Dr. Pepper's  
screen-door icon and roadside signs depicted a clock showing the times to 
take a  a Dr. Pepper were 10, 2 and 4. I lived in Cleveland, but spent all my 
summers in  Pulaski County, VA - both Nehi and Dr. Pepper were special 
summertime treats for  me; they never showed up in Cleveland.
 
John Carnahan
Columbus, OH
 
PS: My Wythe County (Va.) uncle always told me that Rural Retreat was the  
cabbage-and-sauerkraut capital of the world, but I don't recall his 
mentioning  Dr. Pepper. 
 
 
In a message dated 5/5/2009 11:30:58 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org writes:

That was  the legend around Rural Retreat, however, according to the  
Dr Pepper  Museum website

" There are several stories surrounding the naming of Dr  Pepper. The  
most popular is that Wade Morrison worked for a man name  Dr. Charles  
Pepper in Rural Retreat, VA before he moved to Waco and  became the  
owner of The Old Corner Drug store where Dr Pepper was  invented. The  
story is that Morrison fell in love with Dr. Pepper's  daughter, but  
Dr. Pepper would not let them get married. To make his  fortune he  
moved west to Waco and named the new exciting drink after  Dr. Pepper  
to win the hand of his daughter. We do have census  records that  
indicate that this legend is probably not true. Dr.  Pepper in Rural  
Retreat, Virginia had a daughter who was eleven at  the time of Wade  
Morrison's employment. Mr. Morrison is not the  person who invented Dr  
Pepper but Dr. Charles Alderton, a pharmacist  who worked for Mr.  
Morrison at his Old Corner Drug Store. This is  also documented and in  
our archives. I hope this clarifies any  confusion. "

I don't know that it ever generated business for the  N&W, Rural  
Retreat is not exactly a huge tourist  draw.

The Roanoke Valley was, at least in the 1950s sold more Dr Pepper  per  
capita than any other metro area east of the  Mississippi.

The only way to connect this back to the N&W would be  supplies and  
materials to manufacture the drink were probably  brought in via rail  
in those days. However, to my recollection, the  bottling plant did  
not have a rail siding, so it would have been  trucked to the plant  
itself.

Ken Miller

On May 5,  2009, at 8:00 AM, NW Mailing List wrote:


>

> I don't mean to  be slightly off-topic here but I thought the common  

> myth was  that Dr. Pepper was "invented" along the N&W at, in, or  

>  near Rural Retreat, VA. I know this was at least an early formula   

> but if anyone can fill in the missing parts of this tale and how  it  

> made business for the N&W, I think it would be  interesting.

>

> Thanks.

>

> Bob  Cohen

>

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