Date:  Thu, 19 May 1994 09:00:39 CDT

From:  "Krahn, Al" <AKRA[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MUSIC.LIB.MATC.EDU>

Subject: Walgreen's sodawater



 The official name is Walgreen, without the -'s. However, I

confess to adding the -'s whenever I talk about it.



On the other hand, I never add the -'s to Kmart, Walmart, Target,

or some others. But I do say Penney's, when I know that is not a

part of the name at all.



We do also have some stores with -'s built in: Dretzka's,

Goldmann's, Kohl's, Lena's, Marshall Field's; and some with an

-s but no apostrophe, Younkers, Marshalls.



_________________________



Growing up in Milwaukee in the 30s and 40s, we drank "sodawater"

that we purchased from the local sodawater company. We had many

in the city, and they often had the word "sodawater" in the name

of the company. We would buy it by the case of 24, with

returnable bottles, of course. We were always within easy driving

distance of one or two of these companies. One offered several

dozen different flavors, some of which imitated well-known brands

near the end of the company's existence. It died a few years ago.

Its cases of bottles are collectors' items around the city now:

American Bottling Company or American Sodawater Company, I can't

recall which. We have only one such local sodawater company left

in the area producing generic sodawater in a variety of flavors.



The word "pop" seemed to migrate into the area in the 50s, and

at first we were confused by people who used it and could

recognize them as people who didn't grow up here. Most of us used

the term to refer to our male parent, also sometimes "Pops" with

an -s.



When soda fountains died a slow death here, we all lost one of

our other favorite beverages, "phosphates," which were nothing

more than sodawater made on the spot from a flavoring and some

carbonated water from the soda fountain. Chocolate-cherry was a

personal favorite. They would mix any combination of flavors you

wanted, usually.



There was also a soda fountain downtown that served some exotic

drinks that us street urchins did not understand, something

called "frappes." Obviously, they were something consumed by

a different class of people than we were. I don't think I ever

had one.



Ice cream sodas are hard to come by these days, also.

You might be able to find a Black Cow at an A & W though.

I'm not sure. Those are disappearing too.



AKRA in Beerville.