As I have mentioned in past posts, my wife's family was in the Coca Cola bottling business for four generations in southeast Michigan. Well today, I went to look at an early model Vendo V-39 that was listed on Craigslist in the Detroit area. From the pictures on CL, I could see that the drum was missing and it had been repainted with the white and red scheme later in it's life. The compressor had also been hacked up by an amateur and it was likely "not cooling", "the wires were frayed" and "it needed a shot of freon"! Even so, the rest of the machine looked solid and it would be a good parts machine if I could get it for the right price.
I had spoken with the seller yesterday and told her that I would stop by today after work to check it out. When I got there, she showed me the machine and I was giving it the once over. The cabinet is pretty darn straight for a machine that is likely over 60 years old. I did not see any evidence of beltline rust and all of the other key parts were there. When I opened the door, I noticed that the compressor tag was still affixed to one of the lines. When I flipped it around, I noticed it read:
Wyandotte Coca Cola Bottling Co.
467 Eureka Road
Phone 0081 - 0092
Wyandotte, Michigan
I could not believe my eyes! My wife's family business was Wayandotte Coca Cola Bottling Company (fka Kreger Bottling)! Needless to say I had to buy the machine. There is a pretty good chance that my father-in-law stocked this machine whe he was in high school. I am very excited for him to take a look and see if he recognizes any of the writing on the inside of the door. I paid a bit more than I had planned but this machine had to be reunited with the family. I will use the parts from this machine and a V-39 that I already have to bring this piece of family history back to life. Restored this one will be worth a helluva lot more than $5 maybe $6 grand! A pretty good day on the collecting trail!
On to the pictures!
Tim
