2 Local
2 • Thursday, March 24, 2016
Bureau County Republican • bcrnews.com
Crisp, refreshing Volker-Cola Princeton man shares his experience after more than half a century with Coca-Cola By Eric Engel eengel@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — If you’ve ever sat back and sipped on the sweet, caramel-colored carbonated elixir known as Coca-Cola — honestly, who hasn’t — and wondered where the flavor came from, ponder no longer. Dick Volker has all the details. Volker is a storyteller. He could tell you about John Pemberton, a druggist from Atlanta, Ga., who brought Coca-Cola into the world on May 8, 1886, only after mixing up a thick syrup while attempting to remedy baby colic. He might mention a few young lawyers who decided Coca-Cola would taste good with their ball park hot dogs as the 20th Century was rolling in, or Dwight D. Eisenhower opening a global avenue to international development by bringing the soft drink over to his troops in World War II. He may even ask you to believe the Coca-Cola company — valued at almost $84,000,000,000 in 2015 — sold for $2,100 in the late 1800s … and that wouldn’t be a joke. Just Volker’s story about Coke. “I started with Coca-Cola in 1959,” Volker said, adding he had a job with the company in downstate Illinois before graduating college, and was paid by Coke throughout his service to his country with the International Guard. Volker was assigned to the North side of Chicago after fulfilling his military service, and his duties included marketing Coca-Cola to different establishments, as well as clearing up situations
BCR photo/Eric Engel
Created in 1886, Coca-Cola is arguably the most recognized brand in the history of advertising and marketing. where restaurants were substituting a different cola but still claiming an affiliation with Coke. “The trademark formula is worth many billions of dollars, so it was bad if people were to get the concept of a different taste because our job was to sell them Coca-Cola,” Volker said, mentioning employees were only allowed to work the Chicago Loop for two years maximum due to the professional pressures of the city setting. “If they were substituting, my job was to go ask them if they’d put up a little sign stating they sold Pepsi-Cola or something else that would clear them of a lawsuit.” Volker said Coke never wanted to sue anyone for false advertising, but the unique recipe of what may be the most universally-recognized product on earth wouldn’t have stood the cultural test of time for 130 years without remaining true to its core principles. “Any high school chemistry teacher can break down the recipe (of coca leaves, cola nuts, phosphoric acid, cane sugar and caramel coloring), but
there is one secret ingredient called ‘7X,’” Volker said, noting few privileged individuals have ever known the entire formula. Volker spent four decades with Coca-Cola, earning free admission to Wrigley Field after checking the seamless flow of their vending systems, and gaining countless friendships from individuals across the nation on his mission to supply everyone with the crisp refreshment of a global cornerstone. These days Volker takes his educational entertainment to retirement communities, public libraries and park districts around the area to share the history of Coke. Loretta Volker BCR photo/Eric Engel said her husband is a “big Loretta Volker (left) has always supported her husband, Dick Volker, who started working kid doing show and tell,” at Coca-Cola in 1959 and has quite the story to tell about his adventures. as everyone leans to the edge of their seats while Volker speaks, waiting in line thereafter to share their own stories of the soft drink’s impact on their lives. With a Coca-Cola museum in their Princeton home that showcases antique collectibles from all over the globe, Dick and Loretta attribute the simple blend of syrup and carbonated water for the full flavors of their life experience. “I had a great and successful sales career at Coca-Cola, the flagship of soft drinks,” Volker said. “When you can work at a company like that and they treat you well throughout, that really means something to me.” To join the Coca-Cola Windy City Chapter Collectors’ Club, contact President Dick Volker at 815875-1330, or rhvolker@ msn.com. BCR photo/Eric Engel Comment on this story at A visual timeline of the many different shapes and sizes of Coca-Cola bottles throughout www.bcrnews.com.
the years.
BCR photo/Eric Engel
BCR photo/Eric Engel
Coca-Cola has been a cultural icon since the late 19th century, and Dick Volker was in Dick Volker has a Coca-Cola museum in his kitchen, having collected memorabilia everycharge of making sure people kept drinking the refreshing drink. where he could find it during his professional experience with the company. The Bureau County Republican is located at 800 Ace Road, Princeton, Illinois 61356. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: 815-875-4461 • FAX: 815-875-1235 The BUREAU COUNTY REPUBLICAN (ISSN 0894-1181) is published tri-weekly (three times a week) by the Bureau County Republican, 800 Ace Road, P.O. Box 340, Princeton, IL 61356-0340. Periodical postage paid at Princeton, Illinois, 61356. POSTMASTER Send address changes to BUREAU COUNTY REPUBLICAN, PO Box 340, Princeton, IL 61356-0340.
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