“This kind of stuff is America. It’s history.”
This is what Congressman and Chair of the Small Business Committee Roger Williams said of Dublin Bottling Works as he and Erath County Judge Brandon Huckabee were treated to a special tour of the warehouse and the memorabilia house there and the W.P. Kloster museum Wednesday, April 16.
“I’ve been by it [before] but I haven’t seen the tour,” said Williams. “It’s fabulous. It brings back so many memories because as a kids from the ‘50s that’s what you drank was Dr Pepper at 10, 2 and 4.”
This is a reference to the adage that the soda bottled for many decades at the historic Dublin business should be drank at those times to help provide energy to keep you going through the day.
Although the national beverage is no longer associated with DBW, Williams and Huckabee were informed by VP Kent Crouch of profitable deals with companies like Costco that have the independent Dublin-based sodas in stores all across the nation.
Everyone grabbed a bottle of their choice as they were taken on the tour. Williams chose a Texas Root Beer while Huckabee showed his Tarleton pride with a Texan Grape Soda.
“That root beer was great,” Williams weighed in. “I would advise people to come in and overrun this facility asking for root beer.”
“My favorite part of the tour is seeing all the ladies that represent Dr Pepper [as Pretty Peggy Pepper] through the years and to see the bottle and how they changed,” Williams said. “As one person, I can remember drinking out of each one of those bottles.”
Williams commended the ownership of DBW for preserving a wealth of history of the Dublin Dr Pepper days and working to grow its own identity when they went independent.
“They started with a vision,” said Williams. “Here we are [more than a hundred] later and it’s still a small business doing great things and big things.”
As the chair of the small business committee, Williams said he was excited about the budget passed by the House as well as the plans to make tax cuts permanent and the “largest pay hike to the military we’ve ever done.”
“We’re cutting a lot of regulations that affect everybody right here in Dublin,” he continued.
Williams said a lot of these decisions are carrying through the policies and plans of President Donald Trump.
“We’ve got some really good things going,” he said. “Small business is in really good shape thanks to this president, and I’m glad to be part of it.”
Williams said 99 percent of businesses are small businesses and as a small business owner himself, he will use his position to fight for independents like DBW.
As a local who had college friends working in Old Doc’s, Judge Huckabee said he had been on the tour many times but it was his first time to revisit it as an official of the county.
He said he was inspired by “the way that DBW has had to reinvent themselves and create what they’ve created.”
Huckabee said the legacy they’ve created since 1891 is part of “our home and our community.”
“To see that history continue on is pretty awesome,” he said. “Dublin has a ton of history, it’s pretty fascinating.”
Although Dublin Bottling Works does not currently offer tours to the public, they have a storefront open at the Patrick Street entrance. It’s open Monday –Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.