Lookout Mountain Mirror
Share your
news with us!
  • Home
  • Happenings
    • Lookout Community
    • School News
    • TN & GA Town News
    • Home & Garden
    • Local History
    • Good Reads
    • Recipe Roundup
    • Arts & Leisure
    • Travel
    • Movies with Merrile
    • Happenings at the Club
  • Advertising
  • Calendar
  • Subscriptions
  • About
  • Contact
  • Shop
  • Give & Support

Lookout Mountain
​Happenings

Check back often for up-to-date news, events and article previews between issues of the monthly Lookout Mountain Mirror.

Follow us on Facebook for more news

Double Cola Is Turning 100

9/14/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
While many Chattanoogans are familiar with the history of Coca-Cola and its very successful worldwide franchised bottling operations that began in 1899, another soft drink also has deep Scenic City ties.

Double Cola, historically smaller in scope but initially larger in drink size, was introduced in 1933 by the company led by Chattanoogan Charles D. Little. However, his company traced its beginnings to the Good Grape Co. that originally manufactured a grape soda drink beginning in 1922. As a result, the Double Cola Co. is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The observance includes “100 days of Double Cola,” which will feature a variety of sponsored activities lasting into mid-October. The company is also looking for members of the community who have a connection to Double Cola or a nostalgic Double Cola story to tell.
​

Some company history at the website and some information found in some old newspaper clippings and city directories at the Chattanooga Public Library say that the Good Grape Co. was started a century ago by Mr. Little and Joe S. Foster.

A 1922 city directory does not list Mr. Foster, who has not been mentioned in company histories like Mr. Little or later official Charles W. Wheland, Mr. Foster’s son-in-law. But it does say that the Good Grape Co. manufacturing plant was located at 14 E. 14th St., not far from the current Chattanooga Choo-Choo complex. The manager of the plant was listed as Marcus Schwartz.

Mr. Little, who in 1922 lived at 211 Morningside Drive in Ferger Place off Main Street, got into the soft drink business due to his interest in consuming news instead of refreshing beverages. Growing up in Georgia, the Forsythe native began delivering newspapers at the age of 8 and later went to work with the Parker Railway News Co., traveling throughout the South. News company head T.C. Parker also owned a beverage bottling plant, and that got Mr. Little interested in bottling.

Although the historical information is a little vague, one article said that Mr. Litle had several plants that bottled a beverage in Georgia. It is known he was involved with Chero-Cola at one point and had moved to Chattanooga during World War I.

Once he started Good Grape, he was also involved in forming the Seminole Flavor Company in the 1920s in order to create other product lines. Why the Seminole name was used instead of something with a more local connection might require more research.

Mr. Little experimented with a cola drink and came up with the marketing plan that included a 12-ounce bottle, which was twice the size of other colas popular at the time. Its name became Double Cola. The company had earlier introduced Marvel Cola and Jumbo Cola and was a pioneer at having a painted name label fused onto the bottle instead of using paper labels, as was often popular.

After the Double Cola drink became popular, the name of the company was changed to Double Cola in the early 1950s. By 1954, the company had moved its offices and syrup manufacturing to the familiar building off South Broad Street more recently used by Chattem/Sanofi. That post-World War II style building was designed by the Selmon T. Franklin architectural firm and built by contractor Mark K. Wilson.

Before that, the company had continued its concentrate manufacturing operations at East 14th Street through World War II before moving to a plant at 1607 Central Avenue, where it continued its bottling operations after opening the South Broad Street facility.

Before moving to the new facility, the Seminole corporate offices were at such places as 1212 McCallie Avenue in the late 1930s and the fourth floor of the Hamilton National Bank Building (which now is the covered First Horizon structure) by 1950, city directories say.

Mr. Foster continued as a company official for several years along with G.W. Tribble, and he later moved into Mr. Little’s old Ferger Place home at 211 Morningside Drive. So, this home has double history related to Double Cola.

Mr. Little lived at 902 West Brow Road on Lookout Mountain for more than four decades until his death in 1978 at the age of 90. Mr. Little’s son-in-law, Charles W. Wheland, had joined the company in 1945. He was the grandson of Wheland Foundry founder G.W. Wheland and had also done some tannery and foundry engineering work. The Baylor School and Wharton School of Business graduate and civic leader married Frances Elizabeth Little in 1939. He died in 1976.

Double Cola was sold to Fairmont Foods in 1962, and now it is owned by KJ International. It moved out of its South Broad Street facility in 1999, and today its corporate office is at 537 Market Street in downtown Chattanooga. In recent years, the company introduced Brewski beer and alcoholic drinks to its line and reintroduced the Jumbo line of grape and fruit sodas in the 1980s.

Among the other historic moments, Ski citrus soda was introduced in 1956, while the company also pioneered the returnable 16-ounce bottle in 1957.

Many a Chattanooga baby boomer grew up drinking one of those 16-ounce Double Colas along with other popular soft drinks. And knowing the familiar headquarters was on South Broad Street often added to the enjoyment for many.

Besides its local and regional connection, Double Cola has also tried to have an international presence over the years. A 1955 newspaper story writes of plans to open bottling operations in Indonesia. At the time, the company had 45 foreign bottling plants, including some in Mexico and Canada.

Besides its own unique history, Double Cola has also had a distinctive taste that was perhaps a little more peppery than other cola soft drinks. But most people found the sipping experience very palatable. To this day, the same formula is used.

It is a familiar taste to people also familiar with the company’s ties to Chattanooga. Despite being in the proverbial shadow of the larger Coca-Cola company’s oft-repeated local history, this company that was also made visible by its conspicuous building in the shadow of Lookout Mountain has also enjoyed success for a century.

by John Shearer

0 Comments

Lydia Reynolds Brings Beauty with Art

9/14/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
When Mountain Mirror publisher Lucia Hopper opened a recent issue of Architectural Digest with Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover, she was fascinated with the walls in the star’s dining room: beautiful scenes of nature painted in monochromatic shades of sepia.
​
Lucia had seen some of Lydia Reynold’s work at a friend’s home and wondered if she could do something similar to Paltrow's walls in her Lookout Mountain home. Lydia and Lucia bounced around some ideas. They liked the idea of a scene moving from wall to wall around the room. They even went across the street to take pictures of the view from the western brow of the mountain.

Lydia planned to incorporate these vistas in the murals for the dining room and made up a few sample boards. Color was very important, and the two gals decided to use soft grey tones instead of sepia. The result is spectacular, with many shades of deep colors of the trees to light smoky tones of the mountains in the distance.

Lydia works with her sister-in-law Eugenia Garret on creating the perfect colors, and they make a dynamic duo. Eugenia mixes her own color wash to use as the final coat, making the work pure perfection! Needless to say, the Hopper dining room is spectacular.

Lydia was literally raised in an environment of art and creativity. Her father was the art supervisor for the city school system in Chattanooga, and her grandmother was a professional artist.

Lydia was smack dab in the middle of five siblings, all of them artistic with their own flairs. She laughs and says that you could never see the top of the dining room table because it was always covered with someone’s project or multiple projects. This environment gave her so much freedom of expression, sense of adventure in art and the ability to adapt to a multitude of styles and ideas.

Today, she uses this talent to beautify everything she touches. She has painted murals for countless nurseries - using lots of bunnies, birds, flowers and other animals - each with its own personality. Many wear whimsical hats or bows! With her own special flair, she paints nursery rhymes, under-the-sea murals and flower gardens with picnic scenes. She also paints furniture with special critters like Peter Rabbit, and tea party tables reminiscent of Mackenzie-Childs.

Powder rooms all over town have stars on the ceiling, beautiful trees or whimsical monkeys playfully scampering on the walls, as well as countless more enchanting scenes. Her work is on display at the Chattanooga Zoo; two 14-foot tall giraffes grace the entrance to their enclosure. Of course, they show the artist’s personality with their long eyelashes and mischievous smiles!

Lydia always had art in her heart, but in 1991 she obtained a business license and became a real professional, working with with Kids on the Block. At that time she was a busy young wife and mother with three adorable children, Laura Jane, Zack and Luke. Married to Wayne Reynolds, a teacher and basketball coach at McCallie, Lydia is beloved by folks far and wide. “Lydia Reynolds is one of the most wonderful women I have ever known,” said Bobbie Steffner. “In addition to being incredibly talented, she is kind and good. When I think of the phrase, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world,’ I think of Lydia. She makes the world a better place with her beauty, grace and flair.”

Lydia Reynolds has been using her artistic talent to bring beauty into homes and environments of so many people. She has a flair for matching her artwork to the personality of the home, and it can be whimsical or sophisticated, bright or muted, realistic or fantastic.

For one friend, Lydia painted limbs across the den; mounted on the limbs is the family’s collection of hand-carved birds. A forest of white aspen trees covers another friend’s room.

Some of her clients have a fascination with these extremely expensive wallpapers that are seen in the fine design magazines. Lydia can put a very similar design on the wall, painted by hand, working around windows and doors, without the waste of extra wallpaper. She is a genius with color, perspective and design. And a wonderful person to boot!

by Judy Rowland
0 Comments

    Article Categories

    All
    Arts
    Business
    Chattanooga
    Church
    Education
    Educational
    Family Friendly
    Festival
    Food
    Fundraiser
    Garden Club
    Government
    History
    Holidays
    Jobs
    Lookout Mountain
    Nonprofit
    Outdoors
    Riverview
    Shopping
    Sports


    Archives

    January 2023
    September 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015

    RSS Feed

Stay up-to-date

Join our email list today for the latest news and events between issues!

Contact US

Mailing address: P.O. Box 99 Lookout Mountain, TN 37350
Physical address: 112 N. Watauga, Lookout Mountain, TN 37350
p. (423) 822-6397
Visit our sister paper: Signal Mountain Mirror

Stay Connected