# John Steinbeck - Sungrape - Cooly Cola - and Charley



## SODABOB (Jan 17, 2018)

Howdy:

Long time no-see. I still haven't resolved all of my computer problems, but thought I'd give this thread a go, anyway. I'll also do my best to stayed involved; although there might be occasional delays in my responses and relative post. But have no fear because I plan to stick with this thread through thick-and-thin. Unfortunately, it just might turn out to be more on the thin side and not the thick - only time, help from others, and a little research will determine that. So with that said, here goes ... 


The subject matter originates from a John Steinbeck book titled ... 


"Travels With Charley - In Search of America" 

Published in 1962, the novel involves a three-month long trip that Steinbeck took in a pickup/camper with his large Poodle named Charley. The actual trip took place in 1960 and included traveling west from New York by way of a northern route and returning home by a southern route. Along the way, Steinbeck had encounters with a variety of average Americans, as well as encounters with a variety of modern conveniences, some of which that seemed to boggle his mind. One such convenience was a coin-operated soft drink dispenser that filled a paper cup with your choice of soft drink. Which brings us to the main focus of this thread. Somewhere in western New York, apparently near the Great Lakes, Steinbeck refers to one of those soft drink dispensers where he mentions two brands of soda pop ...  


1. Sungrape 
2. Cooly Cola 

What I'm wondering is ...  Are these real brands of soda pop or fictional? 

Note:  Throughout the novel Steinbeck more often than not uses actual references for certain places and things. But in this case I'm not sure if the brands are real or made-up. For example; in the beginning of the book he talks about listening to the radio and constantly hearing a song titled "Teen-age Angel." I checked and the only song on the charts at that time (1960) that had a similar title was "Teen Angel" by Mark Dinning. (Which does not have the word "age" in the title). So I'm not sure if Steinbeck had simply forgotten the actual title or intentionally added the word "age" for reasons of his own? The same can be asked about "Sungrape and Cooly Cola." Are they real or simply a figment of Steinbeck's imagination?  Hence, the search for the truth. Especially if either brand happened to be *bottled*.  

If someone who reads this lives in New York state, perhaps it will ring a bell. As for myself, I haven't even begun my search and at present have no idea where my "travels" will take me, nor what the end result will be. 


What say you? Fact or fiction? 


Sodabob


(I'll be back)


----------



## SODABOB (Jan 17, 2018)

P.S. 

Here's the actual wording from the book ... 

"Suppose you want a soft drink; you pick your kind - Sungrape or Cooly Cola — press a button, insert the coin, and stand back. A paper cup drops into place, the drink pours out and stops, a cold refreshing drink guaranteed synthetic."


----------



## iggyworf (Jan 17, 2018)

Bob good to hear from you again and welcome back. I have never heard of those two brands before, and if they existed are definately local soda's.


----------



## Canadacan (Jan 18, 2018)

Hey great to see you on here Bob!.... So I'm going to say fictional, Cooly Cola =Coca-Cola.... as for the Sungrape?, who knows!...lol  The other part of me wants to say it was a no name house brand or private label.


----------



## SODABOB (Jan 18, 2018)

Thanks - Its good to be back - but will only be occasional until I resolve my Wifi problems. 

I checked every book I have and could not find either name exactly as Steinbeck spelled them. However, there are two brands that he might have been referring to for the grape flavor ...

1.  Sun Crest Grape
2.  Sunrise Grape

Both are fairly common - at least here in the west. I'm currently searching for coin operated vending machines that used a paper cup. Maybe one of them will provide a clue. 

As for the term 'Cooly' Cola, it could be as Canadacan said and is Steinbeck's sarcastic name for Coca Cola. But even that possibility confuses me because of his usual exactness throughout the book regarding other things and places. 

This thread might crash-and-burn in a day or two if nothing is found, but I'll exhaust every avenue before throwing in the towel. Thanks for the participation so far. 

Bob


----------



## SODABOB (Jan 18, 2018)

I believe this is the type of 1960s paper cup vending machine I'm looking for ...


----------



## CanadianBottles (Jan 18, 2018)

I'm wondering if Steinbeck or his publisher made up names because calling a real brand "guaranteed synthetic" would be opening himself up to a lawsuit.  Or it could just be that they were some sort of generic store brand and he didn't remember what they were called, so he made something up instead.


----------



## SODABOB (Jan 18, 2018)

CB

You're probably right ... "made something up."  But I'll keep looking for a while and see what (if anything) turns up. In the meantime, try this link to the book. Hopefully it will work ... 

https://books.google.com/books?id=N...0YA2wQ6AEIYDAQ#v=onepage&q=Cooly Cola&f=false


----------



## SODABOB (Jan 18, 2018)

The words Synthetic and Artificial pretty much mean the same thing ...


----------



## SODABOB (Jan 18, 2018)

Maybe he meant Sun Crest. I wonder if Sun Crest grape and Sun-Rise grape were distributed in New York state in the 1960s?


----------



## iggyworf (Jan 18, 2018)

Bob, I checked that book out on google books when you 1st posted this. on the 9th? page it states "It should be kept in mind, when reading this travelogue, that Steinbeck took liberties with the facts, inventing freely when it served his purposes, using everything in the arsenal of the novelist to make his book a readable vivid narrative" So your deductions might be right.  Fun reading!


----------



## Canadacan (Jan 18, 2018)

I'd say SunCrest...because that was also a huge brand in the USA and Canada


----------



## hemihampton (Jan 19, 2018)

My Suncrest Can.  LEON.


----------



## hemihampton (Jan 19, 2018)

Maybe the Cooly Cola was really a C&C Super Coola Cola.?


----------



## SODABOB (Jan 28, 2018)

I'm sorry for the delay in replying ...

1. I'm still having Wifi problems. 
2. I've been working.
3. I have a new baby granddaughter. 

So far, I like what iggy found ... "Steinbeck took liberties with the facts, inventing freely when it served his purposes."  I think its the most logical explanation. However, I also like hemihampton's "Super Coola."  I wonder if it was ever dispersed from a vending machine?  The first chance I get, I'll look around and see what I can find.   I'll be back as soon as I can. Sitting outside in the cold is no fun.


----------

