bottlebugs
Well-Known Member
Is everything in the universe attached? I'm starting to think so. After a hiatus
of many years from collecting bottles, I decided to revisit my passion in the
form of Kik Kola and its surprising history. I recalled the wonder of having
been given unknowingly the very bottle I had spent 50 years looking for, but
only after purging my collection to the bones. Out of a collection nearing 1000 or
so soda bottles, I had kept a seltzer, two fountain glasses and a few bottle caps.
I only regretting letting a single bottle from my collection. A lone unremarkable
bottle that I had found at a flea market for ten cents. It was in a box of junk
at the very back of the last shop in the joint. The vendor had truly the dregs.
It was called "Hit". It turned out to be connected to Kik in many ways. Its
founder must have followed in the path of Lazarus Bloom of Orange Bloom aka
Kik fame. It was no surprise as the two companies were only blocks away in
Old Montreal. Orange Bloom was founded in 1926. A competitor sprung up
in 1929 to produce a product called Orange Freeze. Not long after the Kik
Company was formed, Orange Freeze started bottling Hit. It had to be a copy
cat. Kik featured a football player Kicking a ball on its label. Its cap indicated
the retail price. HIT featured a baseball player Hitting a ball on its label with its
price on the cap.
Kik thrived thanks to good marketing. Hit died after a very brief existence. My
soda glasses were from that company. So was one of my caps. HIT intrigued
me so much that I contacted the man who had bought my bottles so many years
before. It wasn't easy mind you. I had reloaded my software not long after selling
all of my bottles. I had lost all of my passwords and had to start from scratch.
Finally, yesterday, I guessed at a possible email address for the buyer and sent him
a message wondering about the Hit bottle. Three years had passed. I got a phone
call last night. It was him! He had been carrying the Hit bottle in his van for years
in hopes of getting it back to me. The morning before I sent the email he was asked
by his girlfriend why he kept that bottle after all these years. He was going to get
rid of it but after reading my email was stunned. The bottle is coming home soon!
I was so thrilled I offered to give him one of the two Hit soda fountain glasses I had
kept.
of many years from collecting bottles, I decided to revisit my passion in the
form of Kik Kola and its surprising history. I recalled the wonder of having
been given unknowingly the very bottle I had spent 50 years looking for, but
only after purging my collection to the bones. Out of a collection nearing 1000 or
so soda bottles, I had kept a seltzer, two fountain glasses and a few bottle caps.
I only regretting letting a single bottle from my collection. A lone unremarkable
bottle that I had found at a flea market for ten cents. It was in a box of junk
at the very back of the last shop in the joint. The vendor had truly the dregs.
It was called "Hit". It turned out to be connected to Kik in many ways. Its
founder must have followed in the path of Lazarus Bloom of Orange Bloom aka
Kik fame. It was no surprise as the two companies were only blocks away in
Old Montreal. Orange Bloom was founded in 1926. A competitor sprung up
in 1929 to produce a product called Orange Freeze. Not long after the Kik
Company was formed, Orange Freeze started bottling Hit. It had to be a copy
cat. Kik featured a football player Kicking a ball on its label. Its cap indicated
the retail price. HIT featured a baseball player Hitting a ball on its label with its
price on the cap.
Kik thrived thanks to good marketing. Hit died after a very brief existence. My
soda glasses were from that company. So was one of my caps. HIT intrigued
me so much that I contacted the man who had bought my bottles so many years
before. It wasn't easy mind you. I had reloaded my software not long after selling
all of my bottles. I had lost all of my passwords and had to start from scratch.
Finally, yesterday, I guessed at a possible email address for the buyer and sent him
a message wondering about the Hit bottle. Three years had passed. I got a phone
call last night. It was him! He had been carrying the Hit bottle in his van for years
in hopes of getting it back to me. The morning before I sent the email he was asked
by his girlfriend why he kept that bottle after all these years. He was going to get
rid of it but after reading my email was stunned. The bottle is coming home soon!
I was so thrilled I offered to give him one of the two Hit soda fountain glasses I had
kept.
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