Dr Pepper / Circle "A" / Tru Ade


Company Names, addresses, dates1:
  Dr Pepper Bottling Co, 6101 Blair Road NW (1938-1965)
  Tru Ade Bottling Co, 6101 Blair Road NW (1942-1969)
  Mason's Root Beer Bottling Co, 6101 Blair Road NW (1957-1962)

Notes:
I'm not sure if Dr Pepper and Tru Ade were connected, but in Washington DC, they were both bottled at the same address (6101 Blair Road NW). Mason's root beer was also bottled at that address, but I've never found a Masons root beer bottle that actually said "Washington DC" on it.
The bottling plant at 6101 Blair Road was started by Mr Wash B. Williams2. It's possible that the plant produced soda in bottles under the name Williams between 1935 and 1937.
Circle-A brand doesn't show up in any DC directories, but the bottle says that it was produced by the Dr Pepper company.
Some city directories for Seven-up say that they were "bottlers of Dr. Pepper since 1966" and "bottlers of Tru-Ade since 1966"1.

There is a Pal Ade bottle with an applied color label (ACL) that says it was bottled by "TRU-ADE BOTTLING CO, WASHINGTON, D.C.", so apparently the Tru-ade bottling company in Washington DC also bottled PAL Ade at some point.


Bottles:

drpepper book # 213
This bottle depicts a clock with hands pointing to 10, 2 & 4. This was part of an ad campaign with the slogan "Drink a Bite to Eat at 10, 2, and 4 O'clock" based on a study that indicated people need a glucose lift at those 3 times.
It is a clear 8.1" crown top bottle with debossing (letters are indented rather than sticking out). The debossing says:
front: Dr. Pepper / GOOD FOR LIFE
back: (picture of clock with hands on 10, 2 & 4) / 6 1/2 OZS
base: WASHINGTON / DC
drpepper_02 book # 214
These are aqua crown top bottles. Left is 8" (6.5 oz) and right is 9.5" (10 oz). They have Red & White Applied Color Labels that say:
both shoulders: Dr Pepper (in circle with 10, 2 and 4)
front: Dr Pepper (in circle with 10, 2 and 4) / CONTENTS 6 1/2 FL. OZS.
back: Dr Pepper (R)
embossed on the base: WASH / DC
drpepper_03 book # (unlisted)
This is a 9.7" aqua crown top bottle with red & white Applied Color Labels that say:
both shoulders: Dr Pepper (R) (in oval)
front: Dr Pepper (R) (in oval) / 10 FL OZ
embossed on the base: WASH / DC
circleA book # 215
This is an 8" clear crown top bottle with some embossed design (3 rings around the neck and circles with A's in them), and black on white markings:
front: CIRCLE "A" BRAND / (letter 'A' in a circle) / BEVERAGES
back: CIRCLE "A" BRAND / THE SIGN OF / HIGHEST / QUALITY / BEVERAGES/ 7 FLUID OUNCES / PRODUCED BY / DR PEPPER BOTTLING CO / WASHINGTON DC
circleA_02 book # 216
Similar to above but it's green and doesn't have the emobssed design on the neck & shoulders. It's an 8" green crown top with black & white markings:
front: CIRCLE "A" BRAND / (letter 'A' in a circle) / BEVERAGES
back: CIRCLE "A" BRAND / THE SIGN OF / HIGHEST / QUALITY / BEVERAGES/ 7 FLUID OUNCES / PRODUCED BY / DR PEPPER BOTTLING CO / WASHINGTON DC
truade_03 book # 683
This is an 8.5" clear crown top bottle with the original contents inside. It has a corn-cob like pattern on the shoulder and neck, and a white & red ACL that says:
front: PASTURIZED / TRU ADE / Not Carbonated / VACUUM SEALED / CONTAINS FILTERED WATER, CONCENTRATED FRUIT JUICE % / SUGAR, FLAVOR, CITRIC ACIC, & ARIFICIAL COLOR
back: NET CONTENTS 6 1/2 FL OZS / NO PRESERVATIVE USED / BOTTLED BY / TRU ADE BOTTLING CO / WASHINGTON, D.C.
truade_01 book # 683
This is an 8.5" clear crown top bottle similar to the one above, except it's 7 ounces instead of 6 1/2, and the list of ingredients is slightly different. The ACL says:
front: PASTURIZED / TRU ADE / Not Carbonated / VACUUM SEALED / CONTAINS FILTERED WATER, CONCENTRATED FRUIT JUICE EQUAL TO 15% / NATURAL JUICE, SUGAR, FLAVOR, CITRIC ACIC, & ARIFICIAL COLOR
back: NET CONTENTS 7 FL OZS / NO PRESERVATIVE USED / BOTTLED BY / TRU ADE BOTTLING CO / WASHINGTON, D.C.
truade_02 book # 684
This is the "king-sized" version of the bottle above. It's a 9.7" clear crown top bottle with a corn-cob like pattern shape on top, and a white & red ACL that says:
neck: KING / SIZE / TRU Ade / TRU Ade
front: PASTURIZED / TRU Ade / Not Carbonated / VACUUM SEALED / CONTAINS FILTERED WATER, CONCENTRATED FRUIT JUICE / SUGAR, FLAVOR, CITRIC ACIC, & ARIFICIAL COLOR
back: NET CONTENTS 10 FL OZS / NO PRESERVATIVE USED / BOTTLED BY / TRU ADE BOTTLING CO / WASHINGTON, D.C.
truade_04 book # 684
This is the same as the bottle above except that the marking on the neck is a bit different. It's a 9.7" clear crown top bottle with a corn-cob like pattern shape on top, and a white & red ACL that says:
neck: Tru-Ade / King Size
front: PASTURIZED / TRU Ade / Not Carbonated / VACUUM SEALED / CONTAINS FILTERED WATER, CONCENTRATED FRUIT JUICE / SUGAR, FLAVOR, CITRIC ACIC, & ARIFICIAL COLOR
back: NET CONTENTS 10 FL OZS / NO PRESERVATIVE USED / BOTTLED BY / TRU ADE BOTTLING CO / WASHINGTON, D.C.


Other Items:
tru_ade_carton This is a wooden carton for Tru Ade soda from Washington DC.
cap_04 This is a red & white bottle cap that says:
front: (5-sided-star) / Tru Ade / not carbonated
edges: DR. PEPPER BOTG CO. INC. WASHINGTON, D.C.
cap_05 This is a red & white bottle cap that says:
front: Vitamin C / Enriched / Tru Ade / not carbonated
edges: BOTTLED BY TRU-ADE BOTTLING CO WASHINGTON, D.C. Contains ...
This is unlike the other bottle caps here in that it doesn't say "DR PEPPER".
cap_01 This is a purple & white bottle cap that says:
front: Grape / TruAde / not carbonated
edges: WASHINGTON SEVEN-UP BOTTLING CO. WASHINGTON, D.C. LESS THAN 1/10 of 1% SODUM BENZOATE & POTASIUM SORBATE
Some city directories for Seven-up say that they were "bottlers of Tru-Ade since 1966", so I presume this cap is from 1966 or later.
cap_02 These bottle caps say:
front: Dr Pepper / 10 2 4
edges: DR. PEPPER BOTTLING CO. WASHINGTON, D.C.
I don't know why one of them has a hole in it.
cap_03 These bottle caps say:
front: Dr.Pepper / GOOD FOR LIFE!
edges: DR. PEPPER BOTG. CO. INC. WASHINGTON, D.C. MIN CONT 6 1/2 FL. OZ. CC5


1 Boyd's Directory for the District of Columbia (various years)
2 Article in the Washington Post on 4-July-1937, page R6


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This page last updated on March 1, 2021.