La Crosse Bottling Companies and Their Bottles

Jenny DeRocher

What types of drinks did old La Crosse bottling companies produce? Perhaps sodas we can imagine, such as Lemon Drop, Root Beer, Orange Crush, or Ginger Ale. However, there were also sodas that we maybe can’t imagine, like Egg or Chocolate Cream.

The first bottling company—G. Carl & Co.—opened in La Crosse in 1870. This was a popular type of business well into the 1960s, just one of the many that started in the boom of small businesses that opened in La Crosse with the collapse of the lumber industry in the 1890s. The four bottles pictured here all contained mineral waters and sodas produced by a La Crosse bottling company. They represent four companies: G. Carl & Co., Gateway City, Riverside Bottling, and the La Crosse Bottling Works.  All are now in the collection of the La Crosse County Historical Society.

Consumers used to buy their soda, drink it, and return the empty glass bottle to the company that owned it. From there it would be washed and rebottled with a new drink. Because of this, the glass was thicker and higher quality than glass bottles we think of today, and the bottles all proclaimed the name of the company that owned them in embossed glass (as seen in the picture).

By the 1920s, it became increasingly difficult for bottling companies to collect their used bottles. Manufacturers began to mass-produce cheaper, one-time use bottles. This caused sodas to be sold at a higher cost, and shape the tradition we have today of using a plastic soda bottle once before disposing of it, whether by throwing it in the street or recycling it—but never reusing it.

Though none of these La Crosse bottling companies exist today, the bottles survive as artifacts from the past. They will be displayed beside a work of art produced by Roger Bouley, who is using the bottles and their local history as his inspiration. This will be part of the exhibition “[art]ifact: Where History Meets Art,” which will be at the Pump House Regional Arts Center from February 26through April 16. “[art]ifact” is a collaboration of the Pump House, the UW-L Public History Program and the La Crosse County Historical Society.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on January 6, 2016.

Creating Better Relationships between Hmong Refugees and Americans

Alyssa Spiering

Catalog Number: 2015.014.043

To help accommodate all the Hmong who resettled to La Crosse in the late 20th century, members of the Christ Episcopal Church created the Friendship Program (1988-1998). One of those members, Betty Weeth (1922-2004), was the owner of this White Hmong pleated skirt. Miss Betty, as she was better known to community members, advocated for Hmong refugees to receive education, sponsorship and naturalization, and higher quality medical care and living conditions. She was trusted by the Hmong community here because she was there for them in times of need. If families were trying to get to the United States, she would find someone to sponsor them. If landlords were taking advantage of Hmong tenants who were not accustomed to Wisconsin winters, Miss Betty would help them heat their homes.

She not only worked face-to-face with Hmong families, but also with the Hmong community leaders and local government officials to create better relations between the two. Some La Crosse community members were resentful towards the Hmong for receiving tax money to aid programing related to health and education. Miss Betty believed everyone deserved the right to receive an education and this helped fuel her work with the Hmong.

Due to Betty Weeth’s fortunate upbringing, she was given many opportunities in life, such as a college education paid for by a wealthy benefactor. With the ability to gain an education this way, she realized that when given opportunities you should not squander them. In her work with the Hmong, Miss. Betty promoted children and parents to go to school to gain jobs in medical fields where applicants who could speak both Hmong and English were needed.

The work Miss Betty did to help the Hmong showed them that she and other La Crosse citizens were committed to helping their adjustment. Through her hard work, she gained respect from Hmong community members and received many gifts of traditional Hmong clothing, including this skirt. Betty Weeth earned the right to wear this skirt alongside other Hmong community members to events including Hmong New Year celebrations and wedding ceremonies. The photo shows Betty and her husband John at a Hmong New Year’s event. Miss Betty is wearing this skirt.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on January 2, 2016.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.