Darla Perigo
http://1deflep.blogspot.com
English 201-502
Essay 2 Final
Word Count: 1615

Coca-Cola: It Really Is The Real Thing
Advertising is an important component of any successful product. An icon of American culture, Coca-Cola is one of the biggest names in the United States and across the globe. From creation to incorporation, each stage of ownership in the Coca-Cola business throughout the twentieth century has been an incremental step in developing the nearly flawless advertising that has made it one of the world’s most recognized and powerful brands. Management may have altered their target audience and periodically adjusted their marketing slogans and campaigns, yet none of them ever lost sight of the quality of their unique product.
First created in 1886 by pharmacist Dr. John Pemberton, the beverage was sold for a mere five cents a glass at Jacobs’ Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. The name Coca-Cola and its now widely recognized lettering script were both created by Dr. Pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper, Frank Robinson. The two began marketing the cola product, advertising Coca-Cola with hand painted signs that directed people to the new, refreshing beverage available at Jacobs’ Pharmacy (The Coca-Cola Company 1). The first newspaper advertisement for Coca-Cola appeared in The Atlanta Journal. Sales averaged about nine drinks per day. According to Allen Butler of Associated Content, despite spending $70 for marketing and advertising, Dr. Pemberton had only made about $50 that first year (The Coca-Cola Company 5).
Dr. Pemberton had been selling off parts of his businesses over the late years of his life to various business partners, and just a couple of years after its creation, he sold Coca-Cola to businessman Asa G. Candler for $2,300 (The Coca-Cola Company 5). Dr. Pemberton died, basically penniless, in 1888, without so much as a glimpse of the global success his Coca-Cola product was positioned to eventually achieved.
Author Ben Jacobs describes Mr. Candler as a sort of pioneer in advertising, who believed in the quality of the product and in the power of advertising and merchandising, and Candler began large scale aggressive advertising for his fine tuned soft drink product (History of Coca-Cola and Their Advertising Campaign 1). He invested an unheard of at the time twenty percent of his company’s revenue on advertising, and targeted advertising toward the upper class. The Coca-Cola promise was “Delicious. Refreshing. Exhilarating. Invigorating”. Aggressive advertising dramatically increased Coke’s sales. Mr. Candler, along with his brother, John, Dr. Pemberton’s former partner Frank Robinson, and two of Candler’s other associates trademarked Coca-Cola and incorporated the business, The Coca-Cola Company.
Under Candler’s guidance and vision, the Coca-Cola product continued to be mass marketed. Another ploy used by Candler was distributing coupons for free soft drinks. The perfect marketing strategy–offer potential customers something for free hoping that they will return for more and become regular paying consumers of the product! By this time Coca-Cola was being sold at numerous different soda fountain locations, and the demand for the drink was increasing and sales were continuing to climb.
Advertising slogans during Candler’s leadership included:
· “The pause that refreshes.”
· “The best friend thirst ever had.”
· “The drink of quality.”
· “It satisfies.”
By 1919, a group of investors had purchased The Coca-Cola Company for approximately $25 million, and that is also the year that The Coca-Cola Company became a publicly owned company. Common stock at that time sold for $40 a share (The Coca-Cola Company 6).
As President of the The Coca-Cola Company, Robert Winship Woodruff’s approach was quality, consistency and sales. He stressed the importance of consistently manufacturing a high quality product. He also established a research and development team, and he dispersed his staff to outlets that sold Coca-Cola where they trained soda fountain workers to correctly serve Coca-Cola. With the increased production of Coca-Cola spawning monumental strides in the bottling industry, it is not surprising that bottle sales surpassed soda fountain sales during Woodruff’s leadership. Using the latest in bottling technology, he ensured that his product was a convenience for his clients, so that they were in a position to easily sell Coca-Cola at their facility to the general public or in coin-operated machines in workplaces. For retailers, Coca-Cola’s creation of the cardboard six-bottle carton in the 1920’s “became one of the industry’s most powerful merchandising tools” (The Coca-Cola Company 1).
Advertising was taken to a new level during Woodruff’s tenure, and it also became more aggressive and sophisticated. He partnered with Archie Lee of the D’Arcy Advertising Agency. While previous owner Candler had aimed his advertising at the upper class, Mr. Woodruff instead focused on the common man. His goal was that Coca-Cola was to be synonymous with the all-American way of life (The Coca-Cola Company 7). Under Lee’s direction, advertising positioned the Coca-Cola product as refreshing and a “fun food” (Advertising in the 1920’s 2).
Though years earlier it had been introduced rather informally by American travelers visiting abroad, Coca-Cola’s global presence was felt when they began sponsoring the Olympic Games in 1928. The United States Olympic team arrived in Amsterdam, along with one thousand cases of Coca-Cola. Spectators were introduced to Coca-Cola as both a soda fountain drink and in bottles (The Coca-Cola Company 2). The Coca-Cola Company continues to be one of the biggest sponsors today.
Production of the Coca-Cola beverage overseas began during World War II. An extremely clever and successful public relations and promotional strategy used by Lee and Woodruff was that, during World War II, the company proclaimed that “every man in uniform would be able to get a bottle of Coke for five cents no matter what the cost to the company” (The Coca-Cola Company 7). In order to bolster the morale of troops stationed overseas, General Dwight Eisenhower asked that Coca-Cola plants be built near U.S. army bases in Europe and North Africa.
Advertising slogans of this pre-World War II era included:
· “The drink that makes the pause refreshing.”
· “What refreshment ought to be.”
· “America’s favorite moment.”
· “The drink everybody knows.”
· “It’s the real thing.”
After World War II, with the end of the Depression and when the pendulum had finally swung and America was in its period of great prosperity and affluence, it was only fitting that Coca-Cola had become a recognized and powerful brand symbolizing America. It had been through the war. Now it represented home and defined that era. Coca-Cola was synonymous with America.
Examples of advertising slogans and taglines of the 1950’s:
· “What you want is Coke.”
· “The cold, crisp taste of Coke.”
· “Almost everyone appreciates the best.”
The time had come for Coca-Cola President Robert Woodruff to step down, and marketing and promotions were handled by an ad agency named McCann-Erickson. Responding to the chaos and disorder of the 1960’s, the political crises and the growing outcry for world peace, they produced one of the world’s most famous television commercials ever made in 1971. Filmed in Italy, the commercial focused on a circle of swaying youth from around the world singing from the top of a mountain and proclaiming, “I’d like to buy the world a coke”.
In addition to the infamous “I’d like to buy the world a coke” jingle, advertising campaigns of the 1960’s and 1970’s included:
· “Things go better with Coke.”
· “It’s the real thing.”
· “Coke adds life.”
· “Have a Coke and a Smile.”
The Coca-Cola Company launched its very successful Diet Coke, which remains the best selling diet soft drink and third best selling soft drink today (The Coca-Cola Company 1). However, it was not so successful when in the mid-80s when it tinkered with the original cola formula and introduced what was appropriately called New Coke. The company had maintained the integrity of the original “secret” recipe used since the beginning of the century, and the general public did not hesitate to convey its unhappiness with the new version of an old favorite. The Coca-Cola Company listened to its consumers, quickly reintroduced Coca-Cola Classic and within a few short years, New Coke was discontinued and “universally considered the biggest consumer product blunder of the 1980’s, but it was also considered the biggest perspective as a positive thing, because of the massive amount of free publicity that the Coke brand received from the debacle.” (The Coca-Cola Company 9). As the old saying goes, there is no bad publicity.
Slogans and taglines used during the 1980’s included:
· “Coke is it!”
· “Catch the wave.”
· “Red White & You.”
· “Can’t Beat the Feeling.”
The 1990’s brought a new perspective and the “Always Coca-Cola” campaign was rolled out in what was called “one of the world’s most sophisticated and powerful marketing organizations” (The Coca-Cola Company 9).
During 1990’s some other Coke campaign slogans were:
· “Can’t beat the real thing.”
· “Enjoy.”
· “Play red hot summer.”
Through the twentieth century and over the course of their hundred plus year history, The Coca-Cola Company’s advertising direction has ensured that Coca-Cola will stand the test of time. It is equivalent to the American way of life. Coca-Cola in the twenty-first century continues to stand as one of the world’s strongest national and international brands. Coca-Cola really is the real thing.
Works Cited

Advertising in the 1920’s. 15 Aug. 2008 http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/snpmech4.htm
Butler, Allen. A History of Coca-Cola. 13 June 2006. 15 Aug. 2008 <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/37117/a_history_of_cocacola.html?cat=22>
Coca-Cola Company. 15 Aug. 2008 http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/businesses/A-F/Coca-Cola-Company.html
Jacobs, Ben. History of Coca-Cola and Their Advertising Campaign. 07 Sept. 2006. 15 Aug. 2008 < cat="22">

The Coca-Cola Company. 15 Aug. 2008

The Coca-Cola Company. 13 Aug. 2008

The Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company. 11 Aug. 2008 <http://www.virtualvender.cocla-cola.com/ft/index.jsp>

The Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company. 13 Aug. 2008

Strategy Exercise for Thursday

1. Intro Strategy: Arresting statement to lure the reader into continuing.
2. Topic Sentence: First created in 1886 by pharmacist Dr. John Pemberton, the beverage was sold
3. Topic Sentence: Dr. Pemberton died, basically penniless, in 1888, without so much as a glimpse of the global success his Coca-Cola product was positioned to eventually achieved.
4. Topic Sentence: As a sort of pioneer in advertising, Mr. Candler believed in the quality of the product and in the power of advertising and merchandising, and he began large scale aggressive advertising for his fine tuned soft drink product
5. Topic Sentence: Under Candler’s guidance and vision, the Coca-Cola product continued to be mass marketed, with brand awareness developing.
6. Topic Sentence: As President of the The Coca-Cola Company, Robert Winship Woodruff’s approach was quality, consistency and sales.
7. Topic Sentence: Advertising was taken to a new level during Woodruff’s tenure, and it also became more aggressive and sophisticated.
8. Topic Sentence: Though years earlier it had been introduced rather informally by American travelers visiting abroad, Coca-Cola’s global presence was felt when they began sponsoring the Olympic Games in 1928.
9. Topic Sentence: Production of the Coca-Cola beverage overseas began during World War II
10. Topic Sentence: Coca-Cola was synonymous with America.
11. Topic Sentence: The time had come for Coca-Cola President Robert Woodruff to step down, and marketing and promotions were handled by an ad agency named McCann-Erickson.
12. Topic Sentence: The Coca-Cola Company launched its very successful Diet Coke, which remains the best selling diet soft drink and third best selling soft drink today (J). However, it was not so successful when in the mid-80s when it tinkered with the original cola formula and introduced what was appropriately called New Coke.
13. Concluding strategy: Point to the future.

Essay 2 Rough Draft 2 - Augh!!!!!!!!

Brand mgmt may be what I am trying to say instead of/in addition to marketing and advertising. Introduce brand management as a concept/thesis. Idea: each time the sale of the company meant monumental increases in what the company poured into brand mgmt/advertising. Thesis needs to include that it is a lifestyle, it is one of life’s simple pleasures, and it is included in every occasion.

One of the icons of America culture is Coca-Cola. It is one of the biggest names and one of the most recognized and powerful brands across the United States and across the globe. It is fascinating how this product, with such humble beginnings, has thrived, by nearly always being positioned impeccably in its marketing and advertising strategies on top of its market as the number one product as a result of quality, marketing and advertising.

Coca-Cola begins its history rather humbly. The “syrup” mixture that made up the first cola drink was developed by a pharmacist, Dr. John Pemberton, in May of 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia.. He took the product to a pharmacy, Jacobs’ Pharmacy, where, after others tasted it and deemed the product “excellent”, - G it was sold for five cents a glass as a fountain soda drink. Later, carbonated water was added to the syrup mixture.

Frank Robinson, Dr. Pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper at the time, came up with the name Coca-Cola; he is also the creator of the infamous Coca-Cola script that is so much a part of Coke’s world wide recognition.

The two began a modest marketing campaign for the cola product. The first steps in marketing Coca-Cola were simple hand painted signs directing people to the new, refreshing beverage available at Jacobs’ Pharmacy. The first newspaper advertisement for Coca-Cola appeared in The Atlanta Journal soon after. Sales averaged about nine drinks per day. B-According to Allen Butler of Associated Content, despite spending $70 for marketing and advertising, Dr. Pemberton had only made about $50 that first year.

Dr. Pemberton had been selling off parts of his businesses over the late years of his life to various business partners, and just a couple of years after its creation, he sold Coca-Cola to businessman Asa G. Candler for $2,300-C. Dr. Pemberton died, basically penniless, in 1888, without so much as a glimpse of the global success his Coca-Cola product eventually achieved.

A-As a sort of pioneer in advertising, Mr. Candler believed in the quality of the product and in the power of marketing, advertising and merchandising, and he began large scale aggressive advertising for his fine tuned product. He invested an unheard of at the time twenty percent of his company’s revenue on advertising, and aiming that advertising toward an almost upper scale class. He proclaimed Coca-Cola to be “Delicious. Refreshing. Exhilarating. Invigorating”.

Such aggressive advertising at the time increased Coke’s sales almost tenfold, and Mr. Candler, along with his brother, John, Frank Robinson, who was Dr. Pemberton’s former partner, and two of his other associates trademarked Coca-Cola and incorporated the business, The Coca-Cola Company.

Under Candler’s guidance and vision, the Coca-Cola product continued to be mass marketed. Coupons for free soft drinks were distributed. The perfect marketing strategy-offer potential customers something for free. What a great way to get people to try a new product – offer them something for free in the hope that they will return for more and become regular paying consumers of the product!

Merchandising also played a key element in Coca-Cola’s continued success. Mr. Candler saw to it that there was plenty of Coca-Cola merchandise available for give aways, such as fans, calendars, clocks and other novelties. He knew that one element of success was in promoting the Coca-Cola name and keeping it in front of consumers. By this time it was being sold at different soda fountain locations, and the demand for the drink was increasing and sales were continuing to climb.

D-By 1919, a group of investors had purchased The Coca-Cola Company for approximately $25 million, and that is also the year that The Coca-Cola Company became a publicly owned company. Common stock at that time sold for $40 a share.

As President of the The Coca-Cola Company, Robert Winship Woodruff stressed the importance of a quality product as well as consistency. No matter where a Coca-Cola is being enjoyed, it must always taste the same. He established a research and development team, and he dispersed his staff to outlets that sold Coca-Cola, training soda fountain workers to correctly serve Coca-Cola. With the increased production of Coca-Cola spawning monumental strides in the bottling industry, it is not surprising that bottle sales surpassed soda fountain sales during Woodruff’s leadership. Using the latest in bottling technology, he ensured that his product was a convenience for his clients, so that they were in a position to easily sell Coca-Cola at their facility to the general public or in coin-operated machines in workplaces. For retailers, Coca-Cola’s creation of the cardboard six-bottle carton in the 1920’s “became one of the industry’s most powerful merchandising tools”. - H

Advertising during Woodruff’s tenure also became more aggressive and sophisticated. He partnered with Archie Lee of the D’Arcy Advertising Agency. While previous owner Candler had targeted his advertising toward the upper class, Mr. Woodruff instead focused on the common man. His goal was that Coca-Cola was to be synonymous with the all-American way of life. – C Under Lee’s direction, advertising positioned the Coca-Cola product as refreshing and a “fun food” - E.

Though years earlier it had been introduced rather informally by American travelers visiting abroad, Coca-Cola’s global presence was felt when they began sponsoring the Olympic Games in 1928. The United States Olympic team arrived in Amsterdam, along with one thousand cases of Coca-Cola. Spectators were introduced to Coca-Cola as both a soda fountain drink and in bottles-H. The Coca-Cola Company continues to be one of the biggest sponsors today.

Production of the Coca-Cola beverage overseas began during World War II. An extremely clever and successful public relations and promotional strategy used by Lee and Woodruff was that, during World War II, the company proclaimed that “every man in uniform would be able to get a bottle of Coke for five cents no matter what the cost to the company”-C. In order to bolster the morale of troops stationed overseas, General Dwight Eisenhower asked that Coca-Cola plants be built near U.S. army bases in Europe and North Africa.

After World War II, when the pendulum hand swung and America was in its period of great prosperity and affluence, it was only fitting that Coca-Cola had become a recognized and powerful brand symbolizing America. It had been through the war. Now it represented home and defined that era. Coca-Cola was synonymous with America.

Partially in response to competition from Pepsi Cola, The Coca-Cola Company rose to the challenge by manufacturing three new lines of soda beverages. The new drink line up included Sprite, TAB (one of the first diet soft drinks) and Fresca, all of which remain in production today.

Responding to the chaos and disorder of the 1960’s, the political crises and the growing outcry for world peace, Coca-Cola produced one of the world’s most famous television commercials ever made in 1971. Filmed in Italy, the commercial focused on a circle of swaying youth from around the world singing from the top of a mountain and proclaiming, “I’d like to buy the world a coke” –F The Coca-Cola Company illustrates the strength of that particular opus by stating how “the deep emotional bond between Coca-Cola and its consumers grew even more powerful and more global”.

The Coca-Cola Company launched its very successful Diet Coke, which remains the best selling diet soft drink and third best selling soft drink today (J). However, it was not so successful when a few years later in the mid-80s when it tried to monkey with the original cola formula and introduced what was appropriately called New Coke. The company had maintained the integrity of the original “secret” recipe used since the beginning of the century, and the general public did not hesitate to convey its unhappiness with the new version of an old favorite. The Coca-Cola Company listened to its consumers, quickly reintroduced Coca-Cola Classic and within a few short years, New Coke was discontinued and “universally considered the biggest consumer product blunder of the 1980’s, but it was also considered the biggest perspective as a positive thing, because of the massive amount of free publicity that the Coke brand received from the debacle.” – C As the old saying goes, there is no bad publicity.

Over the course of their hundred plus year history, The Coca-Cola Company has stood the test of time and still represents the American way of life today. With its successful marketing and promotion and attention to ensuring nothing less than a quality product, The Coca-Cola Company continues to give consumers the product and quality that they demand by evolving with the times.

I know my works cited page is a mess – I still have to figure out how to do this

A -http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/56875/history_of_cocacola_and_their_advertising.html?cat=22

B-
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/37117/a_history_of_cocacola.html?cat=22

C-http://www.answers.com/topic/the-coca-cola-company

D-http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/chronicle_man_named_woodruff.html

E-http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/snpmech4.htm
F-http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/businesses/A-F/Coca-Cola-Company.html
G-http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/chronicle_birth_refreshing_idea.html
H-http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/chronicle_man_named_woodruff.html

J http://www.virtualvender.cocla-cola.com/ft/index.jsp

The Evolution of Coca-Cola into the Successful American Icon It Remains Today

Darla Perigo
http://1deflep.blogspot.com
English 201-502
Essay 2 Rough Draft
Word Count: 1210

One of the icons of America culture is Coca-Cola. It is one of the biggest names and one of the most recognized brands across the United State and across the globe. What is fascinating is how this product, with such humble beginnings, has thrived by continuing to evolve and stay on top of its market as the number one product as a result of quality, marketing and advertising.
Coca-Cola begins its history rather humbly. The “syrup” mixture that made up the first cola drink was developed by a pharmacist, Dr. John Pemberton, back in May of 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia.. He took the product to a pharmacy, Jacobs’ Pharmacy, where, after others tasted it and deemed the product “excellent”, it was sold for five cents a glass as a fountain soda drink. Later, carbonated water was added to the syrup mixture.
Frank Robinson, Dr. Pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper, suggested the name Coca-Cola. He is also the one responsible for the creation of the infamous Coca-Cola script that has become so widely recognized.
The two began a modest marketing campaign for the cola product. The first steps in marketing Coca-Cola were hand painted signs directing people to the new, refreshing beverage available at Jacobs’ Pharmacy. The first newspaper advertisement for Coca-Cola appeared in The Atlanta Journal soon after. Sales averaged about nine drinks per day. B-According to Allen Butler of Associated Content, despite spending $70 for marketing and advertising, Dr. Pemberton had only made about $50 that first year.
Dr. Pemberton had gradually been selling off parts of his businesses to various partners, and just a couple of years after its inception, he sold Coca-Cola to businessman Asa G. Candler for a mere $2,300-C. Dr. Pemberton died, basically penniless, in 1888, without seeing even a fragment of the global success his Coca-Cola product eventually achieved.
A-As a sort of pioneer in advertising, Mr. Candler believed in the quality of the product and in the power of marketing, advertising and merchandising, and he began large scale aggressive advertising for his fine tuned product. He invested an unheard of at the time twenty percent of his company’s revenue on advertising, and aiming that advertising toward an almost upper scale class. He proclaimed Coca-Cola to be “Delicious. Refreshing. Exhilarating. Invigorating”.
Such aggressive advertising at the time increased Coke’s sales almost tenfold, and Mr. Candler, along with his brother, John, Frank Robinson, who was Dr. Pemberton’s former partner, and two of his other associates trademarked Coca-Cola and incorporated the business, The Coca-Cola Company.
Under Candler’s guidance and vision, the Coca-Cola product continued to be mass marketed. Coupons for free soft drinks were distributed. It is a perfect marketing strategy. Offer them something for free! What a great way to get people to try a new product – offer them something for free in the hope that they will return for more and become regular consumers paying for the product!
Merchandising also played a key element in Coca-Cola’s continued success. Mr. Candler saw to it that there was plenty of Coca-Cola merchandise available for give aways, such as fans, calendars, clocks and other novelties. He knew that one element of success was in promoting the Coca-Cola name and keeping it in front of consumers. By this time it was being sold at different soda fountain locations, and the demand for the drink increased and sales continued to climb.
D-By 1919, a group of investors had purchased The Coca-Cola Company for approximately $25 million, and that is also the year that The Coca-Cola Company became a publicly owned company. Common stock at that time sold for $40 a share.
As President of the The Coca-Cola Company, Robert Winship Woodruff stressed the importance of quality in the product so that Coca-Cola beverages tasted the same, consistently. He established a research and development team. By using the latest in bottling technology available at the time he ensured that his product was a convenience for his clients, and that they were in a position to easily sell Coca-Cola at their facility to the general public or at coin-operated machines in workplaces. He worked almost tirelessly at finding ways to improve the bottom line.
Advertising during Woodruff’s tenure also became more aggressive and sophisticated. He partnered with Archie Lee of the D’Arcy Advertising Agency. While previous owner Candler had targeted a wealthier class of people with his advertising, Mr. Woodruff instead focused on the common man. His goal was that Coca-Cola was to be synonymous with the all-American way of life. – C Under Lee’s direction, advertising positioned the Coca-Cola product as refreshing and a “fun food” - E.
Coca-Cola got its start internationally during World War I. An extremely clever and successful public relations and promotional strategy used by Lee and Woodruff was that, during World War I, the company proclaimed that “every man in uniform would be able to get a bottle of Coke for five cents no matter what the cost to the company”-C. In order to bolster the morale of troops stationed throughout Europe, General Dwight Eisenhower asked that Coca-Cola plants be built near U.S. army bases in Europe and North Africa.
After World War I, when the American nation was in period of prosperity, it was only fitting that Coca-Cola had by then become an American symbol or icon. It had been through the war. It represented home. It represented America.
The Coca-Cola Company sought to conquer new markets and consumer demand by branching out, and it began manufacturing new products. The line up by then had grown to include Sprite, Tab (one of the first diet soft drinks) and Fresca. Coca-Cola responded to the chaos and disorder of the 1960’s and the growing outcry for world peace by launching one of the most famous marketing promotions ever in 1971, with the circle of youth singing from the top of a mountain, “I’d like to buy the world a coke.” -F
The Coca-Cola Company launched its very successful Diet Coke; however, it was not so successful when it tried to mess with the original cola formula and introduce what was appropriately called New Coke. As “original” Coca-Cola had so long been an American icon and was a symbol for the American way of life, the general public did not welcome this new version of soft drink. The Coca-Cola Company listened to its consumers, and within a few short years, New Coke was discontinued and “universally considered the biggest consumer product blunder of the 1980’s, but it was also considered the biggest perspective as a positive thing, because of the massive amount of free publicity that the Coke brand received from the debacle.” – C There is no bad publicity!
Over the course of their hundred plus year history, The Coca-Cola Company has stood the test of time and still represents the American way of life today. With its successful marketing and promotion and attention to ensuring nothing less than a quality product, The Coca-Cola Company continues to give consumers the product and quality that they demand by evolving with the times.

I know my works cited page is a mess – I still have to figure out how to do this

A -http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/56875/history_of_cocacola_and_their_advertising.html?cat=22

B-
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/37117/a_history_of_cocacola.html?cat=22

C-http://www.answers.com/topic/the-coca-cola-company

D-http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/chronicle_man_named_woodruff.html

E-http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/snpmech4.htm
F-http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/businesses/A-F/Coca-Cola-Company.html

Darla Perigo
http://1deflep.blogspot.com
English 201.502
Essay 2 Proposal
Word Count: 777

The topic that I intend to research is comparing soft drinks, regular versus diet and their affect on weight and overall health. I am interested in this topic simply because I absolutely love cokes! No other drink will do for me! Probably most soft drink drinkers eventually fall into the same cycle that I did. One day, before you realize what is happening, a little at a time some extra weight somehow has managed to creep up on you. And that is when you make the decision that you are going to have to do something about it and start making sacrifices, some small cuts and some on a larger scale. I would be willing to guess that one of the first areas most people cut back on is in drinking soft drinks and switching over to the diet version of their favorite soft drinks.

Switching from regular soft drinks to diet may seem like such a small step; however, it usually is a trade off in taste. While I wasn’t a diet soft drink drinker until about the last five years or so, I would guess diet soft drinks have come a long way as far as taste. Unfortunately there is still clearly a difference between them and their “regular” counterpart.

And that is where artificial sweeteners come in. Originally I had thought that this essay would center more around artificial sweeteners: how they are chemically engineered and the dangers associated with consuming them. But I am finding that artificial sweeteners are like every other substance on the planet. There is a wealth of controversy surrounding them and the negative health effects caused by them. Countless researchers and medical professionals publish study after study that document the proof that there is a direct link between artificial sweeteners consumption and cancer, diabetes, heart disease; the list is endless. And, for every study that negatively berates artificial sweeteners and their negative side effects, there is a study aimed at disproving the bad PR. Companies then respond and try to do damage control by launching corporate marketing campaigns in an effort to reassure consumers that they are perfectly safe in their use of these chemicals.

I decided against focusing on artificial sweeteners in diet soft drinks because of so much controversy and because there does not appear to be a right or wrong answer. It’s virtually impossible to figure out who the expert is, whose opinion is correct or who consumers should believe. Nearly everyone has heard the scary stories about the terrible health problems associated with them. Besides, I’m certainly not a chemistry major, so I would actually find much of the data boring, and I don’t have the background to really understand some of the chemical aspects of artificial sweeteners.

Instead I am hoping to focus more comparing regular colas and diet soft drinks and if there is a general affect on weight and overall health. While most everyone would guess that regular soft drinks are loaded with sugar (and that is going to have a negative affect on weight!) most of my online research seems to focus on diet soft drinks and the health threat they seem to pose.
Some interesting statistics I found on soft drinks include:

Not surprisingly, Coca-Cola is the most popular and biggest-selling soft drink in history, as well as the best-known product in the world.
Diet soda accounted for 29.6 percent of carbonated soft drink sales in 2005. That is up from 24.7 percent in 2000.
Diet Coke was “born” in 1982, became the number one sugar free drink in the United States and now ranks as the number three soft drink in the world.
Since the late 1970`s the soft drink consumption in the United States has doubled for females and tripled for males. The highest consumption is in the males between the ages of 12 - 29; they average 1/2 gallon a day or 160 gallons a year.
More than 15 billion gallons were sold in 2000.
Unbelievably, one statistic shows that for every can or bottle of diet soda that a person drinks each day, there is a 41 percent increase in their risk of being overweight!

As far as research options, I have found that there are numerous web sites listing statistics about America’s soft drink consumption and habits. There are just as many marketing sites that will sell statistical data on soft drink consumption. And there are unlimited sites that detail the numerous risks and factors affecting health and obesity as a result of drinking both regular and diet sodas.

1a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=1&did=1517644631&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218224080&clientId=41301b.The Sugar Association; The Sugar Association Applauds California Assembly Health Committee's Plans to Hold Hearings on Deceptive Advertising of Artificial SweetenersAnonymous. Pediatrics Week. Atlanta: Jun 9, 2008. pg. 532a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=17&did=1113298021&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218224080&clientId=41303a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=46&did=858555751&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218224923&clientId=41304a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=10&did=1276497791&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218224080&clientId=4130
5a. http://www.lexisnexis.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T4328891880&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T4328891888&cisb=22_T4328891887&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=227171&docNo=2
6a. http://www.lexisnexis.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T4328891880&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T4328891888&cisb=22_T4328891887&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=314633&docNo=22 6b. Jury to get Splenda-Equal fightAFX International Focus, May 10, 2007 Thursday 10:15 PM GMT, 492 words6c. Use because it shows fighting among brands7a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=0&did=1526207981&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218226162&clientId=4130
8a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=2&did=1206897191&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218227003&clientId=4130
9a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=4&did=1073031421&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218227317&clientId=413010a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=9&did=1188385431&SrchMode=1&sid=4&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218227801&clientId=413010b. Stop sipping! Surprising news about diet sodaJanet Bailey. Good Housekeeping. New York: Sep 2006. Vol. 243, Iss. 3; pg. 31, 1 pgs\11a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=18&did=22075751&SrchMode=1&sid=4&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218227801&clientId=413011b. How diet soda turns to poisonJennifer Cohen. Earth Island Journal. San Francisco: Fall 1997. Vol. 12, Iss. 4; pg. 29, 1 pgs12a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=1&did=1256780441&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218228592&clientId=413012b. Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisLenny R Vartanian, Marlene B Schwartz, Kelly D Brownell. American Journal of Public Health. Washington: Apr 2007. Vol. 97, Iss. 4; pg. 667, 9 pgs

Essay 2 Plan of Action

1. The purpose for writing Essay 2 is to show how we, as a society, may be fooling ourselves with diet coke consumption, mainly by thinking of diet soft drinks as diet food as well as whether or not the artificial sweeteners are even a safe choice.

Soft drinks are notoriously loaded with sugar and no one denies, debates or questions that fact. They just are. That's what makes them such a treat. That's what makes them coke!

However, at some point in the coke evolution, consumers caught on to just how much sugar they were consuming, and how drinking cokes probably wasn’t the best thing for their waist line. That opened up an entire market of people who weren’t consuming soft drinks because of the sugar content. Some coke research and development genius did a little work and came up with the concept of adding artificial sweetener to soft drinks in lieu of sugar and lo and behold, we have diet coke. Diet coke without the sugar! Diet coke without the weight gain! But what do we really know about artificial sweeteners? The word artificial implies they are chemically engineered substances. Have diet cokes evolved from a treat to something far unhealthier? How misleading is the word diet in the branding?

2. The specific topic that I am researching is diet cokes - how safe are they because of the artificial sweeteners, and can they really be considered diet?

3. The audience who would find this appealing is pretty much anyone who drinks soft drinks, whether they are regular or diet. I hope to be able to find in my research statistics of how many soft drink drinkers there are versus how many diet soft drink drinkers there are. Between the two, I would be willing to guess it is an absolutely huge segment of society. Those who would take notice would be the diet coke drinkers, who could ask themselves if they are making the right choice by drinking diet and question if they are any better off diet-wise or health-wise.

4. The mode of writing will be a combination of definition, compare and contrast, cause and effect, and illustration.

5. Summary of research completed – from Friday’s research of USI’s online databases, there appears to be information available on artificial sweeteners like Equal, Nutrasweet and, the one we’re currently most familiar with, Splenda, and how these artificial sweeteners are generally manufactured, how they are being marketed in the products they are added to, and how their marketing slogans have been said to be misleading the public.

I would like to do more research to find out how consumers view their drinking of diet cokes – do they do it for weight control or simply because they want a coke and justify or rationalize it is an ok decision when they choose diet and cut the calories?

Annotated Bibliographies

1a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=1&did=1517644631&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218224080&clientId=4130
1b.The Sugar Association; The Sugar Association Applauds California Assembly Health Committee's Plans to Hold Hearings on Deceptive Advertising of Artificial Sweeteners
Anonymous. Pediatrics Week. Atlanta: Jun 9, 2008. pg. 53
Abstract (Summary)
In December 2004, The Sugar Association brought an action in United States District Court, Central District of California alleging that Johnson & Johnson uses false, deceptive and misleading marketing to induce customers to purchase [Splenda]. In its complaint, The Sugar Association claims that Johnson & Johnson has chosen to compete not only in the artificial sweetener market against products like Sweet'N Low and Equal, but also in the natural sweetener market against sugar. Johnson & Johnson intentionally changed its advertising so that consumers no longer view Splenda as a mere "packet" sweetener, but instead perceive it as a "pantry staple food," in part by introducing a Splenda-branded product it claimed "offers a true sugar baking replacement."
1c. Misleading Splenda marketing about its safety.

2a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=17&did=1113298021&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218224080&clientId=4130
2b. Business Update; Consumer demand drives growth and innovation of SPLENDA Sweetener products
Diabetes Week. Atlanta: Sep 4, 2006. pg. 16
Abstract (Summary)
In fact, one in every five households purchases SPLENDA Sweetener Products.
2c. People are choosing it; dr's are recommending it.

3a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=46&did=858555751&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218224923&clientId=4130
3b. Abstract (Summary)
The debate over the wildly popular sugar substitute Splenda has turned not-so-sweet. The maker of Equal, its closest competitor, has sued over Splenda's claim, "Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar," saying it fools consumers into thinking the product is all-natural. The Sugar Association has launched a Web site, truthaboutsplanda.com, that snipes, "Splenda is an artificial sweetener made from a chemical compound that includes chlorine. Splenda is not natural." Now, McNeil Nutritionals, which makes Splenda is suing the sugar association for making "false and misleading claims."
3c. What is it made of? Is it safe?

4a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=10&did=1276497791&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218224080&clientId=4130
4b. Sugar Association; Fearing Damaging Verdict, Johnson & Johnson Settles Splenda Misleading Advertising Lawsuit
Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week. Atlanta: Jun 2, 2007. pg. 1072
Abstract (Summary)
Dan Callister, with Squire Sanders & Dempsey, attorneys for the Sugar Association said, "We know because of evidence presented at trial that it was greatly to Johnson & Johnson's advantage to mislead American consumers. We know that Johnson & Johnson knew they were misleading consumers and did nothing. It is clear the jury was outraged and wanted to punish Johnson & Johnson and immediately asked for a calculator.
4c. Lawsuit(s) against Splenda

5a. http://www.lexisnexis.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T4328891880&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T4328891888&cisb=22_T4328891887&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=227171&docNo=2
5b. WAR OVER ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERSManila Standard, June 24, 2008 Tuesday, 786 words, Connie Veneracion
There is nothing natural about Splenda. It is as artificial as Equal, NutraSweet and all the other sugar substitutes out there. The made with sugar tagline has proved misleading to many people but that's really the intention. When did truth and advertising ever go together? Most times, it is the wrong impression that makes a product such a hit.
5c. Use this because it names other major artificial sugar players - Equal and NutraSweet.

6a. http://www.lexisnexis.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T4328891880&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T4328891888&cisb=22_T4328891887&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=314633&docNo=22 6b. Jury to get Splenda-Equal fightAFX International Focus, May 10, 2007 Thursday 10:15 PM GMT, 492 words
6c. Use because it shows fighting among brands

7a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=0&did=1526207981&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218226162&clientId=4130
7b.
PepsiCo; Video: PepsiCo and Whole Earth Sweetener Company Introduce All-Natural, Zero-Calorie Sweetener PureVia
Anonymous. Food Business Week. Atlanta: Aug 11, 2008. pg. 23
Abstract (Summary)
"The introduction of PureVia(TM) represents the culmination of four years of research and development to bring this revolutionary new product to market and satisfy consumer demand for great tasting, all-natural, zero-calorie sweeteners," said Paul Block, chief executive officer of Merisant and Whole Earth Sweetener Company.
7c. Wow - there is a new natural artificial sweetener being introduced... great.

8a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=2&did=1206897191&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218227003&clientId=4130
8b.
Soft drink manufacturers concentrate on diet products as category grows
Barbara White-Sax. Drug Store News. New York: Dec 11, 2006. Vol. 28, Iss. 17; pg. 73, 1 pgs

Abstract (Summary)
Mike Cinque, Coca-Cola's vice president of sales for U.S. drug stores, said that while overall carbonated soft drink sales in drug stores are "very healthy," dollar sales for diet products are outpacing dollar sales of regular CSDs. We've recently expanded our Diet Pepsi portfolio with the introduction of Jazz, a new line of zero-calorie colas available in rich flavors like black cherry french vanilla and strawberries and cream, said Michelle Naughton, a spokeswoman for Pepsi-Cola North America.
8c. This could be good info to summarize with because it shows that soft drink co's are forging ahead with diet cokes.

9a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=4&did=1073031421&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218227317&clientId=4130
9b.
Is Diet Soda Making You Fat?
Leslie Pepper. Harper's Bazaar. New York: Jul 2006. , Iss. 3536; pg. 58, 1 pgs
Abstract (Summary)
Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio tracked more than 600 normal-weight adults over seven to eight years and found that, on average, those who drank diet soda-even as little as one can or bottle a day-did not lose weight and were significantly more likely to become overweight than those who drank regular soft drinks or none at all.
9c. Aha - are diet cokes diet food?

10a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=9&did=1188385431&SrchMode=1&sid=4&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218227801&clientId=4130
10b.
Stop sipping! Surprising news about diet soda
Janet Bailey. Good Housekeeping. New York: Sep 2006. Vol. 243, Iss. 3; pg. 31, 1 pgs
Abstract (Summary)
Why the gain? "We're concerned that the artificial sweeteners in diet drinks actually increase food cravings for some people," says study coordinator Sharon Fowler, M.P.H. And diet-soda drinkers may think that they can afford to indulge elsewhere-the "I can have a hot-fudge sundae since I had a diet soda" rationalization.
10c. Do diet cokes help with weight loss? Not.

11a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=18&did=22075751&SrchMode=1&sid=4&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218227801&clientId=4130
11b.
How diet soda turns to poison
Jennifer Cohen. Earth Island Journal. San Francisco: Fall 1997. Vol. 12, Iss. 4; pg. 29, 1 pgs

Abstract (Summary)
Cohen, a sixth-grader, conducted an experiment on aspartame in diet soft drinks to show how it breaks down into two deadly neurotoxins. When soft drinks are stored at high temperatures (104 degrees Fahrenheit), the aspartame breaks down into formaldehyde and diketopiperazine.
11c. asparatame keeps coming up - is there a link between it and splenda/nutrasweet?

12a. http://proquest.umi.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/pqdweb?index=1&did=1256780441&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1218228592&clientId=4130
12b.
Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Lenny R Vartanian, Marlene B Schwartz, Kelly D Brownell. American Journal of Public Health. Washington: Apr 2007. Vol. 97, Iss. 4; pg. 667, 9 pgs

Abstract (Summary)
In a meta-analysis of 88 studies, we examined the association between soft drink consumption and nutrition and health outcomes. We found clear associations of soft drink intake with increased energy intake and body weight. Soft drink intake also was associated with lower intakes of milk, calcium, and other nutrients and with an increased risk of several medical problems (e.g., diabetes). Study design significantly influenced results: larger effect sizes were observed in studies with stronger methods (longitudinal and experimental vs cross-sectional studies). Several other factors also moderated effect sizes (e.g., gender, age, beverage type). Finally, studies funded by the food industry reported significantly smaller effects than did non-industry-funded studies. Recommendations to reduce population soft drink consumption are strongly supported by the available science. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
12c. Soft drinks "facts" in general/ diet or not.

Ten Things Your Reader Won’t Know About eBay

1. Fact or detail: Was originally called AuctionWeb
Source information: http://ebay.about.com/od/ebaylifestyle/a/el_history.htm

2. Fact or detail: First item was a test, not a real auction – and it sold.
Source information: http://ebay.about.com/od/ebaylifestyle/a/el_history.htm

3. Fact or detail: Myth it was first created to sell Pez dispensers
Source information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay

4. Fact or detail: a state cannot require sellers located outside the state to collect a sales tax, making deals more attractive to buyers.
Source information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay

5. Fact or detail: More than 50% of all items listed on eBay do not sell!
Source information: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-55-Most-Precious-Letters-You-Will-Ever-Use-on-eBay&id=992639

6. Fact or detail: at this writing some of the most popular products include video gaming systems and videogame accessories.
Source information: http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Are-the-Top-Selling-Items-on-eBay?&id=1222650

7. Fact or detail: Current numbers of members (buyers and sellers)
· 212 million Worldwide (Q3-2006)
· 128 million in the USA
· 84 million in the other countries
Source information: http://www.thebidfloor.com/ebay_statistics.htm

8. Fact or detail: 19 million: Number of items on the site at any given time, more than 300 times the number of stock-keeping units in a typical Wal-Mart.
Source information: http://www.thebidfloor.com/ebay_statistics.htm

9. Fact or detail: eBay went public on September 24, 1998 at an IPO split adjusted price of $0.75.
Source information: http://investor.ebay.com/faq.cfm

10. Fact or detail: As of December 31, 2006 there were approximately 13,200 employees. Our future success is substantially dependent on the performance of our executive and senior management and key technical personnel, and our continuing ability to find and retain highly qualified technical and managerial personnel.
Source information: http://investor.ebay.com/faq.cfm

Topic Research

1. Sneaky restaurant tricks
http://money.aol.com/top5/general/sneaky-restaurant-tricks

2. Sneaky restaurant tricks: Ten to watch out for
http://www.walletpop.com/2008/05/15/sneaky-restaurant-tricks-ten-to-watch-out-for/

3. Your food's getting smaller
http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2008/04/28/sneaky-restaurant-tricks-your-food-s-getting-smaller.aspx

4. Waiter tip tricks
http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/24/commentary/everyday/sahadi/

5. Sneaky sneaky restaurant tricks
http://www.buttermilkpress.com/blog/sneaky-sneaky-restaurant-tricks-to-watch-out-for/

6. Cheap tricks: how restaurant meals can make your waist thicker and wallet thinner
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0801/is_5_65/ai_n6005959

7. I Spy ... Restaurant Tricks
http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/articles.php?
boardId=571268&func=3&channel=Money+%26+Finance

8. Fast Food Tricks to Share
http://charlestlee.com/2008/06/17/fast-food-tricks-to-share/

9. There's No Room for Tricks in the Restaurant Business
http://www.allbusiness.com/food-beverage/restaurants-food-service-restaurants-full/10175074-1.html

10. The Dirty Dozen
http://www.chainleader.com/blog/180000418/post/1810028581.html

1. As soon as I opened the door to the apartment, I knew that my roommate had played party host all weekend long. The smell of beer and cigarettes was enough to nearly knock me down before I even stepped inside. Every cheap beer brand was represented by the cans strewn across what used to be the floor. The smoking artists of the crowd had used cigarette ashes to create designs on the coffee table. Some chemistry types had even combined the two mediums (spilled beer and ashes) and invented a nice paste of spilled beer and ashes in hopes of changing our carpet from beige to dark brown, adding a little bit of grinding in for good meaure. Oh yes, what a party it had been.

Mode(s) of writing/thinking: Description

2. There are many ways that the university bookstore takes advantage of students. Everything from basic supplies to books that students are forced to purchase is overpriced. Pencils and supplies can be picked up for next to nothing everywhere else; in fact, many businesses give out free pens and pencils as part of their corporate marketing. Take those outrageous book prices. How much is that book worth new? And how many times over is it paid for by the time it is retired and a new one is chosen by the professor? The buyback amount given to students at the end of the semester rarely justifies the amount that a textbook was used in class. University bookstores have a long way to go to help out their students.

Mode(s) of writing/thinking: Illustration

3. Today I woke up late. I didn’t have time to make coffee. I was late for work. Customers yelled at me. My boss yelled at me. I had a flat tire when I went out to my car after work. I managed to find a ride home to escape the world. When it was all said and done, I was just glad to call it a day.

Mode(s) of writing/thinking: Narration

4. There's nothing interesting to watch on TV these days. For example, do you ever turn on the television on a Sunday morning? There's not much to watch, is there? Week days are nothing but hours and hours of silly soap operas and trashy talk shows. Evening programming isn't much better, with countless sitcoms of which no one even knows the name. There are quite a few dull programs on network television.

Mode(s) of writing/thinking: Illustration

5. My roommate has a very peculiar morning ritual. She tries to catch an extra ten minutes of sleep. However, she should know by now it just ends up making her run late for work. She’s tried setting all the clocks in her house ahead by ten minutes. It doesn’t help because she knows they are fast. I’ve suggested she put her alarm clock on the other side of the room to force her to get out of bed when it rings, but she forgets to do that each night. Her morning ritual catches up with her daily.

Mode(s) of writing/thinking: Cause and effect.

Grandma and Grandpa Young: Embracing the Simple Life

Nearly all of my early family food memories seem to revolve around being at Grandma and Grandpa Young’s house. Whether it was a family gathering or just a couple of us, spending hours and hours at their house meant I had the great fortune to eat many meals with them. With their penny-wise upbringing and frugal lifestyle, my grandparents embraced the idea of hard work and the simplicity of daily life, which was reflected in their style of food preparation and home cooking.

Grandpa Young’s grandparents immigrated to the United States from Germany in the 1800’s. They settled in southern Indiana, and over time acquired many acres of land and most of their large family made a living farming. The timeline thereby places my grandparents as young adults during the Depression years. They knew what it meant to make do with what little they had. They knew how to take a little and make enough. They knew what it meant to do without.

Fast forward in time to my grandparents becoming grandparents. Having grown up in the country and living across the road from their farm meant I was blessed with spending countless days at their house. Most kids looked forward to sleeping in on Saturday mornings. Not me; I got up early and was usually knocking on their back door so that I could have breakfast with them. Their breakfast rarely varied from corn flakes; you know, the kind that come in that giant box from Kellogg’s that has the big green and red rooster on it and that are not fit to eat without a few spoonfuls of sugar dumped on them first. Even at today’s prices, I think you can still get that same oversized box for about three or four dollars.

Interestingly enough, I never joined them for corn flakes. Instead Grandma fixed me one or two pieces of toast loaded with chunks of real butter. I do not mean the Country Crock spread stuff we think nothing of buying at the grocery store today either. Honest to goodness butter. Despite the warmth of the bread, how come that solid white butter never seemed to melt?

As far back as I can remember there were always chickens on their farm, so that meant plenty of free fresh eggs. I even had my very own little red metal bucket, today displayed in my foyer, for gathering the eggs that Grandpa would pull out from under the laying hens in the nests that were lined up in rows along the walls of the chicken house. Occasionally my cousin Dan, who lived next door and was an early riser just like me, joined me at their house, and we sometimes asked Grandpa to cook eggs for us instead of having toast. That was one of the few times Grandma would step aside in the kitchen as only Grandpa could make The Perfect Sunny Side Up Egg. He could fry it fast enough that the edges were crisp, but the center of the egg oozed bright yellow yolk. To this day I still do not know his secret, and one bite of my eggs would convince you that that is one skill I sure did not acquire!

Grandma was famous for her kuchen, which is German for coffee cake. Kuchen is made from staple ingredients like flour, eggs and brown sugar. What a wonderful way to create a treat like kuchen by using only the most basic of ingredients! That recipe was brought to America by my ancestors, and I am proud to say that each generation of our family has stayed true to it all these years.

My aunt and grandmother were both active in the little Methodist country church in Elberfeld, Indiana. Both were the church’s pianist and/or organist. At different times throughout the year, our church’s congregation cooked for the Kiwanis men’s club and also had bake sales or rummage sales. I knew when there was a church event of some kind happening when I went to Grandma’s on a Saturday. One look around at the 100 plus kuchen cooling throughout the kitchen, living room and front room told me she had been asked to supply the kuchen for an occasion of some kind.

My grandparents saved many things and reused them (they were recycling even before it was cool to go green!) For example, empty metal coffee cans kept saltine crackers airtight and fresh. And plastic sacks from bread and hot rolls were no exception. Those were cleaned and saved throughout the year, and that is what all her kuchen were individually wrapped and taken to church in.

Being farmers, my grandparents naturally had a large garden. Grandma spent many days in the hot kitchen, with only one old-fashioned black metal fan to circulate the heavy air, canning tomatoes, green beans and corn. Family members spent summer evenings under the big sycamore trees in the back yard snapping green beans for her to can the next day. It was a lot of work, but my grandparents’ priority was ensuring not a single vegetable went to waste and that there would be enough food to get through the coming winter months.

Fresh fruit made its appearance each summer. When peaches were in season, my aunt might stop at an orchard and bring home bushels of peaches for canning. How sweet those were the following February, unlike anything most people had ever tasted. Just like with the vegetables, canning fruit in such large quantities was viewed as being the cost-effective choice as well as giving my grandparents the security of knowing there would be enough food.

While there was very little spare time, the men in the family managed to get in some hunting. Hunting was viewed as much as a necessity for the meat as it was for the sportsmanship. Grandpa would clean what was killed and soaked the meat in salt water, changing the water out two or three times. Grandma then took over, and by the end of the day there awaited a meal of fried rabbit or fried squirrel in homemade grease gravy. From the reaction of my friends, I can tell neither of these appeared on most people’s dinner tables, but to us it was perfectly normal and as common as a baloney sandwich to others.

In conclusion, my grandparents’ hard work and simple lifestyle was displayed in their manner of home cooking. Only the passing of time has made me come to realize and fully appreciate how much their old fashioned ways in the kitchen shaped so many of my childhood memories.

It’s All About Grandma and GrandpaYoung!

Nearly all of my early family food memories revolve around being at Grandma and Grandpa Young’s house, whether it was a family gathering or just a couple of us. Spending hours and hours at their house meant I had the great fortune to eat many meals with them. It is only with time and raising my own family that I have grown up enough to fully appreciate the magic that was created in the kitchen.

Grandpa Young’s grandparents immigrated to the United States from Germany in the 1800’s. They settled in southern Indiana, and over time most of the family made a living in farming. The timeline thereby places my grandparents as young adults during the Depression. They knew what it meant to make do with what little they had. They knew how to take a little and make enough. They knew what it meant to do without.

Fast forward in time to my grandparents becoming grandparents. Having grown up in the country and living across the road from their farm meant I was blessed with spending countless days at their house. Most kids looked forward to sleeping in on Saturday mornings. Not me; I got up early and was usually knocking on their back door so that I could have breakfast with them. Their breakfast rarely varied from corn flakes; you know, the kind that come in that giant box from Kellogg’s that has the big green and red rooster on it and that aren’t fit to eat without a few spoonfuls of sugar dumped on them first. Even at today’s prices, I think you can still get that same oversized box for about three dollars. Interestingly enough, I never joined them for corn flakes. Instead Grandma fixed me one or two pieces of toast loaded with chunks of real butter. I don’t mean this Country Crock spread stuff either. Honest to goodness butter. Despite the warmth of the bread, how come that solid white butter never seemed to melt? My cousin Dan was also an early riser, and if he joined me at the back door in time, we might ask Grandpa to make us an egg sandwich instead. That was the only time we could get away with asking Grandma to step aside in the kitchen as only Grandpa could make The Perfect Sunny Side Up Egg. He could fry it fast enough that the edges were crisp, but the center of the egg oozed bright yellow yolk. To this day I still do not know his secret, and one bite of my eggs would convince you that is a skill I sure didn’t acquire!

Grandma was famous for her kuchen, which is German for coffee cake. Kuchen is made with very basic ingredients like flour, eggs and brown sugar and baked for about 15 minutes. I am proud to say that the same recipe from the 1800’s that my ancestors brought with them to America is still being passed down in our family.
My aunt and grandmother were active in our little Methodist church in Elberfeld, Indiana. Both were the church’s pianist and/or organist. At different times throughout the year, our church cooked for the Kiwanis men’s club and also had bake sales. I knew when there was a church event of some kind happening as soon as I got to Grandma’s on a Saturday. One look around at the 100 plus kuchens cooling throughout the kitchen and dining room told you she had been asked to supply the kuchen for a church event of some kind.

My grandparents saved many things and reused them (they were recycling even before it was cool to go green!) And plastic sacks from packages of hamburger buns were no exception. Those were saved throughout the year, and that is what all her kuchens were individually wrapped and transported to church in.

Being farmers, my grandparents always had a large garden. Grandma spent days in the kitchen canning the tomatoes, green beans and corn that would be eaten during the winter months. The adults in the family spent many summer evenings under the big sycamore trees in the back yard snapping green beans for her to can in the pressure cooker the next day. I have read that home canning is on the rise again as people long to go back to a simpler time. Canning was a necessity and a way of life for past generations whereas today I question whether the motivation is the purely for the novelty.

Seasonal fruit made its appearance each summer at their house. What a treat when Grandpa made a trip all the way to some far away place called Posey County and brought home a watermelon! The whole family would gather for slice. When peaches were in season, my aunt would stop at the orchard and bring home bushels of peaches for canning. How sweet those were, unlike anything most people had ever tasted.

While there wasn’t much spare time, the men in the family managed to get in some hunting. Grandpa would clean what was killed, and when there was enough meat, at Grandma’s kitchen table we were likely to find a meal of fried rabbit or fried squirrel in gravy. From the reaction of my friends, I can tell neither of these appeared on most people’s dinner tables, but to us it was perfectly normal and as common as a baloney sandwich, only better! By the way, squirrel and rabbit taste like chicken.

Holidays were celebrated at my grandparent’s house. Thanksgiving was a family affair as we gathered for the traditional meal of turkey, home made dressing, corn, green beans and hot rolls. After candlelight services at church on Christmas Eve, the family would gather for a simple meal of barbeque sandwiches before we were tucked in bed to await Santa’s arrival.
In my family, my memories of food always seem to center around me being at Grandma and Grandpa Young’s house, enjoying simple but wonderful fare as a family or maybe just me and my grandparents.

Post 1-The Family Cook
Ask anyone from my generation on back, and I think most everyone will say that their grandmother was the family cook and memories of their grandmothers from that era center around her cooking and her kitchen.

The cooks in my family were both of my grandmothers. While I can name off any number of things that Grandma Powell was “famous” for, my memories are almost always of Grandma Young. Grandma and Grandpa Young were third generation descendants of German immigrant farmers who settled in southern Indiana. I lived directly across the road from them growing up, so I was fortunate enough to spend hours and hours at their house. And obviously I spent a lot of time eating there!

Remember, this was in a time before microwaves and frozen ‘convenience’ foods which are so much a part of today’s daily life. Grandma Young cooked most everything from scratch. I don’t recall her cooking anything that I would necessarily consider “her dish”. But there was always something in the oven; a pot cooking on the stove. A lot of time was spent canning vegetables from the garden. Grandpa would stop by an orchard and bring home boxes of peaches for her to can for winter eating. Having lived through the Depression, she knew how to use basic ingredients efficiently and sparingly. Sauerkraut and ribs and kuchen were frequently on the menu, keeping true to our family’s German roots. Going to town on Fridays and bringing home a watermelon in the summer was a treat like no other!

The men in the family have always been hunters. If there was enough game during the season, she nearly always fixed a big meal of fried squirrel or fried rabbit for anyone who cared to partake.

I only wish now that I would have appreciated now how hard she worked and had been able to ask her to pass down to me some of her recipes and tricks in the kitchen.

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School lunch...
I just don’t recall lunch time during my early grade school years! Maybe that is a blessing, huh? I do know that by my later grade school years (6th through 8th grades), my mom was packing my lunch pretty much every day because it was considered not cool or kind of gross to eat the school lunch.

As part of the back to school shopping experience, getting a new lunch box was part of the school supply list of must have’s, just like a box of 64 Crayolas and the Elmer’s Glue. I had all these dumb lunch boxes like Holly Hobby or a metal yellow box that was supposed to be shaped and painted to look like a school bus. The thermos was laid on its side in the school bus lunch box, and one morning my mom didn’t get the lid screwed on tight enough. Next thing I know it is leaking all over the bus (the one we were riding to school AND the lunch box shaped like one!) My whole lunch box was flooded, my lunch was gone and I think I even started crying as my best friend at the time walked the whole mess up front and dumped it out the door.

It’s hilarious that the people in class today brought up the Grade School Pizza. That is the only day that I bought my lunch! It must have been good at the time or maybe it was cool enough to buy pizza. But rectangular pizza is pretty weird now that I think about it. Also, I must have nearly dehydrated on those days because seriously, who the heck drinks milk with their pizza anyway?? Yuck!!

Hash Brown Casserole

One of my favorite dishes is hash brown casserole. Most people think of hash brown casserole as one of Cracker Barrel’s claims to fame. But luck was on my side, and before the building of the restaurant in both Evansville and Henderson, I was a hash brown casserole DIY’er.

I first discovered hash brown casserole at a Cracker Barrel in Nashville, Tennessee, as my family was passing through to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Up until several years ago, Evansville did not even have a Cracker Barrel locally or even within a reasonable driving distance. So stopping there was a southern treat, something that happened only on special occasions like vacations or visiting friends in Tennessee. It was during a trip down south that I had my first helping of hash brown casserole, and I was hooked!

One of my best friends, Janet, had moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, during our junior year of high school. We kept in touch with occasional letters and cards (this was before email became commonplace). One day I received an envelope in the mail from her, and to my delight, when I opened it, inside she had sent me a recipe card for hash brown casserole. Not just any recipe; she said this was in her Sunday Tennessee newspaper as the honest to goodness hash brown casserole recipe used by Cracker Barrel restaurants!

Obviously, I had to try that recipe over and over. While it is not hard to make, it does take a little time and there are certain ingredients to have on hand. It is simply not something I make frequently. Gradually over time, it has become a tradition at my house to fix a big breakfast on both Christmas morning and on New Year’s Day morning featuring a highlight of none other than hash brown casserole!

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I'm Darla P. This is my second semester at USI; I'm a nontraditional student returning to pursue a Bachelor's degree in either CIS or Finance. Currently I work in ONB's Marketing department, and I maintain the content and graphics on ONB's intranet and internet sites. Since I have a somewhat technical position at a bank, either degree will be of benefit!

I also work one week per month on call after hours for our ATM department. Luckily we don't have too many problems with our ATMs, so I don't have to go on a whole lot of runs. But sometimes receipts jam and I have to fix that or a machine runs out of cash and my partner and I (dual control when handling money!) have to refill it.

So working full time, part time, having kids and going to USI means I have zero life of my own. But if I did, I would probably like to spend more time in my garden and yard.