Dr Pepper Day is officially October 24, 2018 but for those of us who love Dr Pepper, every day is a good day to be a Pepper! Here are some fun facts about this fabulous fizz:
Dr. Charles T. Pepper was born in Montgomery County, Virginia in 1830. He received his medical degree from the University of Virginia and served as a surgeon for the Confederacy in the Civil War. After the war, Dr. Pepper lived in Rural Retreat where he opened his medical practice and Dr. Pepper’s Drug Store. He hired Wade Morrison to work in the drug store and Morrison later moved to Waco, Texas, opened his own drug store and became the co-founder of Dr Pepper.
The period (full stop) after “Dr” in the Dr Pepper logo was discarded for stylistic and legibility reasons in the 1950s.
Drink a bite to eat at 10, 2, and 4 o’clock,” was the slogan for an ad campaign for Dr Pepper that began in 1927. A study that year authored by a Dr. Walter H. Eddy “found that human energy dropped to its lowest point at 10:30am, at 2:30pm and again at 4:30pm daily.” J.B. O’Hara of Dr Pepper asked Tracy-Locke-Dawson Inc. (an ad agency), to design a campaign around that information. The agency held a contest, and Earle Racey, one of their copywriters, won with his “10-2-4” idea–the idea being that drinking the sugary, caffeinated soda at 10am, 2pm, and 4pm would perk you up and get you through those impending energy drops a half-hour later. The slogan has endured in one form or another ever since.
Dr Pepper is a combination of 23 flavors including cola, cherry, licorice, almond, ginger, lemon, orange, molasses and cardamom.
Saturday Session was a local version of “American Bandstand” that aired from the late 1950s into the ’70s on WDBJ 7. My father was the Producer/Director at WDBJ 7 – the CBS affiliate that produced Saturday Session sponsored by Dr Pepper. Every Saturday afternoon my father would bring home a case of Dr Pepper (glass bottles with metal pop tops in a wooden case). We loved this special treat!
The first Dr Pepper bottling plant was opened by Bill Davis in 1936. More Dr Pepper was consumed per capita than any other place on the globe from 1957 to 1959 and we still consume the most Dr Pepper in the United States.
Downtown Roanoke offers a free event on Dr Pepper Day in the Market Square, with free product, free t-shirts and other goodies.
About the Writer:
Following her career in healthcare dining and nutrition management, Becky Ellis followed her passion to create Bubblybee, a champagne and food blog. Her motto is “Don’t wait to celebrate! Pop the cork now!” She loves to share tips for entertaining with bubbly. Find her creative recipes and champagne tasting notes at bubblybee.net and Instagram @bubblybeeboop.
