One bottle in my collection holds a special fascination for me:
For me it all began
in 1973 when a co-worker said he may have a couple of old bottles for me. I drove to his home and purchased my first "St.
Andrews Wine Of Life Root" bottle. At the time, I placed it upon my shelf , as is typical for me , without
much more inquiring thought, however...Months later, while digging in north Bristol, I dug several
broken "Wine Of Life Root" bottles and some smaller aqua bottles embossed, "Andrews M'f'g.Co. Bristol,Tenn."
My curiosity now piqued,I had to know more
about the bottle on my shelf and the possible relationship with these scattered shards. In my mind, questions arose about
its unusual name, strange contents, label appearence, box graphics, even the Proprietor - all intriguing me. Other
questions made themselves known, too. Such as: when was the bottle made, for how long was it made, who made it, when
did the company begin, how long did it operate, why did it cease? And last , but not least, did it have any particular
significance to or for Bristol ?
It was this curiosity that set
me upon an on and off quest for information about Andrews , and - had nothing to do with a friend's comment that I resembled
the picture of Andrews depicted upon his medicine boxes. It would be quite some time before I even saw a box, and by
then, I was well on my way into delving into the Past.
As I got more and more involved
with researching Andrews, I encountered information about other Bristol companies, ie...patent medicine manufacturers,
pharmaceutical companies, chemical companies, drug stores, whiskey dealers, brewing company agents, milk, and soda bottlers.
I began taking notes and arranging the information by dates. I also began collecting all types of Bristol bottles. After all,
I needed pictures as well as data.
For some reason, my attentions
became more focused upon the Patent Medicine and Whiskey bottles and their Proprietors. Possibly, because so little was known
or published about them. And, what little was known was often in error or badly misaligned.
Bristol's "Whiskey Era" was well
kept under wraps and infrequently alluded to, as if Bristolians were ashamed of that time in its history - not unlike the
family member who is known as a "Black Sheep" and no one is supposed to mention his name, much less talk about him. I
saw no reason for such an attitude to be so prevalent, after all - distilling whiskey was an old and honorable
profession whose methods and recipes were often passed down from generation to generation. It was the way many people made
their living, providing food and shelter for their families, paying their bills, and additionally providing tangible goods
purchased by others.
As with all things, the whiskeys
and patent medicines had their negative aspects such as over-indulgers and abusers, but this is no reason to shun the
past or to misalign those who legally sold the products, nor to discard the postive influences and contributions they may
have made.
Kind of got off topic there...Anyway,
it wasn't long before I had enough information for a book, which I self-published 200 copies. It sold reasonably well.
I sold more copies in Knoxville than in Bristol - proving , ( to me anyway), that many Bristolians were yet
shunning and disapproving of their own colorful history.
Maybe
time will change that perception...I'll continue to do my part.
