Museum Matters

The December 15, 1950 Dublin Progress announced the winner of the Dublin Bottling Works soft drink new crown contest. Billy Durham was one of fifty winners in the United States and 17 in Texas to win a new Arnold-Schwinn bicycle. In addition to collecting 32,000 soft drink caps, he also wrote a 4 line jingle that made him eligible for the national contest. Mrs. Grace Lyons, manager of the Dublin Bottling Works congratulated him on his winning the contest prize. He is pictured with his new bicycle and his best friend along side.

I asked a family member how he was able to collect 32,000 caps. I was told the good people at the bottling works would save the caps when they made their rounds to all the soft drink machines in our area. They would give him boxes of caps to add to his project. His extended family had a car dealership in Granbury and they were able to collect additional bottle caps there. The total caps put him over the top and made him a winner. He had to count all of those caps and make sure only the newest bottle caps were included.

Other prizes in this national contest included a part in a John Wayne movie and 3 Ford automobiles.

This is just one of many stories where people and businesses in Dublin have pitched in and helped local kids with their projects. The Dublin Bottling Works has a long history of being a good neighbor and supporting community events and organizations. The goodwill the bottling plant has brought to Dublin cannot be calculated.

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