Nicole Alexander
Professor Shi
English 111
25 October 2004
Plastic or Glass?
Coke bottles have been disappearing from around the country. They are quickly
becoming part of our history. Many older Americans remember the days when plastic
bottles did not exist; the glass bottle provides a link to the past that calls to mind
cherished memories. However, there is a threat that exists for the loyalists of the glass
bottle. They are not being manufactured anymore, so the existing collection of glass
bottles is all that remains. The day that the last glass bottle is either broken or thrown
away will mark the end of this cherished icon. Currently, there are only two bottling
companies that continue bottling Coke products in both plastic and glass bottles. Other
Coca-Cola companies have switched solely to plastic.
One such company is located in New Mexico, and the other is found in the
picturesque mid-western town of Winona, Minnesota. It is located on 2nd and Franklin
streets in downtown Winona. The large building is comprised of red bricks with a Navygray foundation made out of cement. On top of the building is a huge sign with white
letters reading: Coca-Cola Bottling Company. Several large brown docking doors are
located around the perimeter of the building. A red Coke sign hanging by a rusted chain
marks the only other entrance.
Upon entering through the ordinary brown door, you are met by a stairwell which
leads only one way: up. At the top of the stairs there is a quaint office with two ordinary
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gray desks, both of which are littered with papers. To the right of the stairs there is an
enormous room which opens into an even larger room; each is filled with dozens of
pallets that line the perimeter and are stocked with different types of soda ready for
pickup. The walls are comprised with red brick and half way up are met by an off-white
grayish looking paint extending to the ceiling. Every step taken is accompanied by the
squeaky noise of your shoes as they stick to the red, sugar-covered floors.
Clint Khulman, with his thinning white hair and friendly smile, is the current
owner of the Winona Coca-Cola bottling company. He bought out the company’s stock
in 1968 when his father Clint Sr. and his business partner retired. “It was originally
started as a fountain business,” Clint reflects, “they mostly delivered to taverns and dance
halls.” Those were, of course, in the days when his father owned the business. Today,
the company also delivers aluminum cans, glass and plastic bottles mainly to grocery
stores. The company also bottles for individual customers who bring in their own
collection of glass bottles. According to Clint, the farthest distance that a person has
traveled to satisfy his/her coke fetish is Washington D.C.
The bottling area is surprisingly small with only one stainless steel contraption
handling the job. The used glass bottles are arranged in single file and when the “on”
button is pressed, they travel along the conveyer belt to be sanitized by what looks like
mini shower heads. After sanitization they continue on the conveyer belt to the fill
station. Nozzles come down from overhead and spray the soda into the bottles; they are
capped and placed into a case for delivery. The syrup is mixed with water which is held
in a large, stainless steal container across the room and is sent to the fill station via pipes
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that run under the floor. “The mix is five parts water and one part syrup. The syrup
comes in fifty-five gallon barrels from Columbus, Ohio,” Clint informs.
When asked why he decided to continue using glass bottles, Clint explained that
“It was a personal selection; there was no such thing as plastic bottles when I got started.”
He explained that he purchased bottles from the companies that had decided to quit using
glass bottles. He gestured towards thousands of bottles that he has in the warehouse and
smiled, assuring that “we are not in danger of running out, at least not for a while.”
An old freight elevator with wooden, pull-down doors takes you up a level to
Clint’s private collection of Coke artifacts. Getting off the elevator is like stepping into a
piece of history with the musty air reminding you of a museum that has been closed down
for decades. Coke paraphernalia clutters the room. Dozens of old Coke dispensing
machines line the walls with Coke coolers, signs, and other items adding to the chaos.
Clint rummages through some old cases of coke bottles and hands me a piece of the past,
a bottle with Winona, Minnesota written on its bottom. On the bottom of every Coke
bottle a city and state are listed. Clint said that he did not really know why but recounted
with a smile that “guys used to gamble at lunch time. Whoever had the farthest city had
to buy the round.”
As I enjoyed the 15 cent Coke that Clint bought me, I observed an employee who
was opening aluminum cans and then dumping the contents down a drain in the floor.
With his neatly trimmed mustache and thin physique he explained that the cans were sent
back because they were outdated, so he “documents, dumps, and then recycles them.”
After witnessing this process, the sticky floor immediately came to mind, and I then
understood the connection.
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Out of the New Mexico and Winona companies, Winona company is the only one
that still bottles coke in all three sizes: the traditional 6 ½, 10, and 16 ounce glass bottle.
Some of these bottles are worth $10 today. If you have any of these sought-after bottles,
do not throw them away. Grocery stores which carry the 16 ounce bottle will give a
refund for returned bottles. The 6 ½ and 10 ounce bottles can be bottled for individual
customers.
Those of you who are fortunate enough to live in or near Winona can continue to
enjoy coke from a glass bottle so long as they exist. Clint is faithful to his “hard-core
loyalists” who “demand the bottle.” For those of you who prefer plastic over glass, do not
worry. Clint will also continue providing plastic bottles and aluminum cans as well.
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