January 7 , 2021 The Beacon • 13

Quite often when researching genealogy , you ’ ll find some interesting facts . Take for instance the Pepper family from Coshocton . Could their pedigree chart be connected to Dr . Pepper , the soft drink ? The soda had its beginnings in Virginia . A lot of Coshocton people came to Ohio from Virginia .

It all started with a young man working in a drug store fountain for the owner who was a medical doctor named Dr . Pepper .

Seems as if the good doctor noticed the young man he had hired gave a great deal of obvious attention to his daughter

Carole Etchells Cross

Between the Bookends

and , as the story goes , fired the young man . The doctor had higher aspirations for his daughter ’ s future . Leaving Virginia , the young man wandered off to Texas and began making new fountainflavored syrups while in Waco . One day he hit upon a combination customers loved , and having learned the young soda clerk came from Virginia , they dubbed the new drink Dr . Pepper . The young man eventually returned to his home state of Virginia and married the love of his life .

Meanwhile , a patron of the Old Corner Drug Store by the name of R . S . Lazenby became interested in the Dr . Pepper flavor . Lazenby was a beverage chemist and began to research the new soft drink at his Artesian Bottling Works . In 1885 , after two years of testing , blending and processing , Lazenby put Dr . Pepper for sale in several fountains around Waco . The formula has remained basically the same through the years . By 1910 Dr . Pepper syrup was the main item of freight hauled from Waco by Wells Fargo Express .

In 1922 Lazenby ’ s daughter married J . B . O ’ Hara , an Army officer who realized the potential for extensive sales and helped to expand the plant in Dallas , Texas . In 1930 the company moved into a three-story building and constructed other plants to meet the demand .

Meanwhile , Dr . Walter H . Eddy from Columbia University was conducting research into the human diet and discovered three meals a day were not sufficient to provide enough energy to keep an active person at a top level of efficiency . There were three times during the day when a person ’ s energy dropped to its lowest point . These were 10:30 a . m ., 2:30 p . m . and 4:30 p . m .

Eddy recommended people avoid these letdown periods and restore energy quickly through a pure and healthy drink like Dr . Pepper .

Dr . Pepper is not a cola but a unique blend of flavors unlike any other on the market . Its slogan became “ the friendly pepper-upper .”

Another syrup , although not as interesting , was that of P . J . Towle , a grocer who lived in St . Paul , Minnesota who experimented by blending natural syrup from Vermont and Canadian maple sugars with inexpensive sugarcane . He needed a name that would inspire confidence in his new adventure . He thought about his boyhood hero Abraham Lincoln and designed the container in the shape of a log cabin .

Although it was first marketed as a little tin cabin , metal shortages during WWII forced the company to substitute glass bottles . Today Log Cabin Syrup is the most popular blended syrup on the market .

By Tara Gracyk

Coshocton City Council held a special meeting on Dec . 29 where they passed an ordinance allowing the City of Coshocton , the Coshocton Port Authority , the Coshocton County Commissioners and MFM

As part of the international effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus , the Johnson- Humrickhouse Museum will be by appointment Monday through Friday . People will be able to make an appointment in hour intervals between 9 a . m . and 3 p . m . If anyone stops by the museum without an appointment ,

Building Products Corporation to enter into an agreement and requested the commissioners to submit a proposed agreement application to the Ohio Development Services Agency .

The agreement will allow MFM Building

Products to complete renovations , new construction and site preparations totaling $ 3,291,000 . MFM will be able to get a new storm water drainage system and purchase and install a new manufacturing line , as well as equipment for the operation of a warehouse .

In addition , they will construct a facility for a warehouse operation , and they will purchase and install equipment for a R & D lab .

The project was scheduled to begin Jan . 1 and is to be completed by Dec . 31 , 2023 .

MFM currently has

68 full-time permanent employees and five fulltime temporary employees . The project will not only allow those jobs to be retained , but also will allow 21 new full-time permanent employees to be hired when all is said and done . call JHM at 740-622- 8710 , email jhmuseum @ jhmuseum . org or visit www . jhmuseum . org .

The museum will still be open on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p . m ., and people can come on the weekends without an appointment . Sundays will still be free for Coshocton County residents . Due to the change in hours , the museum is extending the WWII poster exhibit until the end of January .

If interested in gift shop items , people can find those online at www . jhmuseum . org . The staff can ship items all over the U . S ., or people may place the order for pickup during checkout .

To make an appointment , email the museum at jhmuseum @ jhmuseum . org or call 740-622- 8710 . They also have a Facebook Booking Tool , which can be found on the business page (@ jhmuseum31 ).

The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum is located at 300 N . Whitewoman St . For questions or more information ,

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The city and the commissioners will grant MFM a 12-year tax exemption for real property improvements made to the project site . MFM will be required to pay real and tangible personal property taxes each year , however .

jsellers @ alonovus . com