Just off Interstate 65 in Elizabethtown, Ky., lies a hidden treasure. Part of the world's largest privately-owned collection of Coca-Cola items-with items covering all aspects from production, promotion, and distribution-can be found at
the Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia. The collection was initiated by Bill and Jan Schmidt in 1971, made into a museum at one of the Elizabethtown bottling plants, moved in 2001 to a building inside the Tourism Center, and finally was established at its own location in May 2006.
The museum is bright and spacious, with an ample gift shop to the left as one enters, and a 1950s soda fountain with snacks straight ahead. The museum goes back in a long set of cases, giving an historical timeline of the development of Coca-Cola, complete with pictures of key figures and lots of period advertising items. These show up in the forms of posters, trays, signs, lamps, watch fobs, toys, bookends, thimbles, knives, serving glasses, cufflinks, earrings, coin purses, wallets, and so much more. I particularly enjoyed the history of production in terms of licensing, early distribution methods, and the journey from syrup and water served in a glass for five cents, to a bottled product. The visual background of the history of the bottle shape was amazing. One entire room is devoted to bottles of every shape and size, in varying colors from blue, to brown, amber, violet, green, even silver and gold.
Coca-Cola was first bottled in Hutchinson bottles, which had a built-in stopper. The bottling warehouse sealed the bottle with an upward pull, and the consumer pressed the stopper down to open it with a popping sound. There are informative exhibits devoted to early legal battles, copycat products and the Coca-Cola contribution to our modern image of Santa Claus.
There is a foot-powered bottle capper, circa 1900, and also miniature and life-size dioramas showing production and a bottle washing operation. All the exhibits greatly inform concerning our American history in terms of technology, culture, and fashion. The posters alone provide a telling view of our notion of homely or hip, ranging from the late 1800s to the present. There is an early 20th century song on sheet music titled "My Coca-Cola Bride."
The museum, easily able to handle busloads of adults or children for tours, also has a hospitality room for banquets or meetings. At one end of that room, there is a 1920s drugstore front window display and, at the other end, a large soda fountain constructed of alabaster, marble, and limestone-complete with Tiffany stained glass, mirrors, and electric lights. Even the hallway to the bathroom is classy, decorated with framed photographs of U.S. presidents holding Cokes. The detail in both product and informative display is nearly overwhelming, giving the most obsessive tourist plenty to read about and see. One can even take away wonderful trivia. For example, did you know that Coca-Cola custom mixes a kosher version, substituting sugar for corn syrup?
After passing bright Coca-Cola delivery vehicles representing the better part of 100 years, there is a corner display of secondary products sold by the Schmidt's from their three decades of Museum operation. This spot shows off children's vehicles and toys, mugs, dolls, Christmas ornaments, and more. What I found most fascinating, though, were the Coke dispensers and coolers ranging from wooden barrels to modern vending machines. I bet any person over 20 years of age finds some vending machine that matches an earlier era. Ah, nostalgia. Ah, the past.
There is so much to see at the Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia: biplanes made of Coke cans, playing cards, World War II airplane identification cards, syrup barrels, soda tins, wooden cases, Coca-Cola train sets, Frisbees, soccer balls, clocks, stand-up signs, baseball bats. Just go see it all! Have fun on your day trips, and be sure and stop sometime for a drink of (formerly Classic) Coke.
The Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia is open throughout the year Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m, with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $2 for youth. Preschoolers are admitted free. Call (270) 234-1100 or visit www.schmidtmuseum.com for details or questions.
To get there
Take Versailles Road past Man O' War to the Bluegrass Parkway. Drive west on the Parkway for 71 miles and take I-65 North (toward Louisville). Take the first exit off I-65, and turn left at the light. Drive west on US-62 (Mulberry St.) and turn right at the traffic light at Buffalo Creek Drive. The museum is located at 109 Buffalo Creek Drive, Elizabethtown, Ky., 42701. Look for the unique museum sculpture: a large hand clutching a Coca-Cola bottle, bursting out of the side of the metal building.