Thirsty - Or Not!

A trip to Palmer's Grocery Store with my mother was always fun because it usually meant I'd come away with a special treat.  Sometimes it was a Snickers or Butterfinger, sometimes a Nutty Buddy ice cream cone, but often it was an ice cold bottle of Grapette.

We didn't make trips to Palmer's often.  Mother had groceries delivered by Herman—once a day until we moved to "the country" and then two or three times a week.  So it was always a big deal to dig into the cold drink box at Palmer's for a bottle of Grapette, the best grape soft drink ever bottled.  Nu-Grape and Grapico don't even come close.

Grapette was invented in Camden, Arkansas, my hometown, by B. T. Fooks.  After getting into the soft drink bottling business in the 1920's, he began experimenting with a grape flavored soft drink in the 1930's.  Grapette officially hit the market in 1940.  The company later began bottling their syrups in animal shaped bottles.  These syrups could be mixed with tap water for an economical non-carbonated beverage.

The animal bottles are collector items today as is other Grapette memorabilia.  On a trip to Maine a few years ago, I came across this photograph of some old gasoline pumps.  There lurking in the background was a Grapette sign, so I snatched it up immediately.

The Fooks family sold Grapette in 1970, and by the 1990's the once popular soft drink had virtually disappeared from the U. S. market.  Today, thanks to another successful Arkansas company, Wal-Mart, Grapette is once again thriving in the USA.  So the next time you visit Wal-Mart or Sam's, pick up some Grapette, Thirsty or Not!

Thanks to Laurie at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie for giving us a brand new meme—Favorite Things.  Grapette is definitely one of my favorite things, so I'm linking up.  Be sure to visit Laurie to see what others are sharing.