Table Of ContentL
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Checkerboard s
Library
What did you eat for lunch today?
Did you wash down your delicious meal with a
cold soft drink? From crunchy chicken to sparkling soda,
chances are the treats you love were created by Food Dudes! This C
a
series unwraps the facts behind these tasty concoctions and their le
b
talented creators. Get the scoop on each innovator’s childhood, D
a
education, early career, and climb to the top. Easy-to-read text v
is
accompanied by full-color and historic photos will leave you hungry B
r
for more. Extra morsels such as a timeline and a sidebar add to a
d
h
this recipe for fun. So pull up a chair and dig in to Food Dudes! a
m
:
P
e
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Ettore Boiardi: Chef Boyardee Manufacturer s
i-
B O OK S Caleb Davis Bradham: Pepsi-Cola Inventor Co
I N T H I S Tom Monaghan: Domino’s Pizza Innovator la In
S E T John Pemberton: Coca-Cola Developer ven
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Colonel Harland Sanders: KFC Creator r
Dave Thomas: Wendy’s Founder
ABDO PUBLISHING IS A DIVISION OF ABDO
WWW.ABDOPUBLISHING.COM
Sheila Griffi n Llanas
Food Dudes
C ale b Dav Is braDh am:
Pepsi-Cola Inventor
Sheila Griffin Llanas
An Imprint of Abdo Publishing
www.abdopublishing.com
Caleb Davis bradham: Pepsi-Cola Inventor
www.abdopublishing.com
Published by Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO, PO Box 398166, Minneapolis, Minnesota
55439. Copyright © 2015 by Abdo Consulting Group, Inc. International copyrights reserved in all
countries. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the
publisher. Checkerboard Library™ is a trademark and logo of Abdo Publishing.
Printed in the United States of America, North Mankato, Minnesota.
052014
092014
Cover Photos: Getty Images, Wikimedia Commons
Interior Photos: Alamy pp. 9, 27; Images courtesy of Bob Stoddard pp. 1, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15,
16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26; Library of Congress p. 11
Pepsi historical information provided by Bob Stoddard
Pepsi-Cola Company historian
Series Coordinator: Megan M. Gunderson
Editor: Rochelle Baltzer
Art Direction: Neil Klinepier
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Llanas, Sheila Griffin, 1958-
Caleb Davis Bradham : Pepsi-Cola inventor / Sheila Griffin Llanas.
pages cm. -- (Food dudes)
ISBN 978-1-62403-315-5
1. Bradham, Caleb Davis, 1867-1934--Juvenile literature. 2. Pepsi-Cola Company--Juvenile
literature. 3. Soft drink industry--United States--Juvenile literature. 4. Businessmen--United States-
-Biography--Juvenile literature. 5. Pharmacists--United States--Biography--Juvenile literature. I.
Title.
HD9349.S632B735 2015
338.7’66362092--dc23
[B]
2014000100
2
Contents
North Carolina Boy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Studying Medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Brad’s Drink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
One-Man Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
At the Top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The Price of Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Getting By . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Twice as Much . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
A Hit Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Ads & Superstars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Modern Megabrand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Signs of the Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Websites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3
Caleb Davis bradham: Pepsi-Cola Inventor
North Ca rolina boy
In the 1890s, soda fountains in drugstores were all the rage.
They were very elegant with pressed tin ceilings, marble counters,
and silver spigots. Druggists poured sparkling water into crystal
glasses. They mixed in any flavor a customer chose. There were
hundreds of flavors, including grape, rose, ginger, peach, and
peppermint. Equally popular were colas.
One small soda fountain in North Carolina made a big mark
on food history. The pharmacist and owner, Caleb Davis Bradham,
was popular and outgoing. He had fun mixing soft drinks for his
customers. When he created his own cola, local people loved it.
They called it “Brad’s Drink.” That was a great name. But Bradham
soon chose a new one, and Pepsi-Cola was born.
Caleb Davis Bradham was born on May 27, 1867. He grew
up in Chinquapin, a tiny farm community in Duplin County, North
Carolina. Caleb’s parents, George Washington Bradham and Julia
McCann Bradham, were well educated and well off. George worked
as a merchant and manufacturer.
4
Caleb’s family was
rooted in American history.
His great-great-great-
grandfather had served
in George Washington’s
army during the American
Revolution. Soon, Caleb
would make history, too.
Caleb grew up during Reconstruction.
This was a time of rebuilding and change
in the years after the American Civil War.
5
Caleb Davis bradham: Pepsi-Cola Inventor
s tudying medicine
Growing up, Caleb was a good student. He attended Clement’s
School, Wallace, and Kings Mountain Military Institute in North
Carolina. Then, he decided to become a doctor.
Caleb attended the University of North Carolina (UNC) in
Chapel Hill beginning in 1886. After graduating in 1889, he
attended the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland. But
when his father’s business failed, Caleb left school.
Caleb returned home for a few months to earn a living. There,
patients came to him for treatment even though he hadn’t finished
medical school. Tiny Chinquapin had no other doctors!
Caleb needed a regular income. So, he took a job in New Bern,
North Carolina. For two years, he taught penmanship at a private
school called Vance Avery Academy. He saved enough money to
return to Maryland to complete a degree. Instead of becoming a
doctor, he became a pharmacist.
Back in New Bern, Caleb bought a corner building, right
downtown at the corner of Middle and Pollock Streets. There, he
6
opened a drugstore called Bradham’s Pharmacy in 1892. He found
it as fun to mix delicious soft drinks as it was to make medicines.
Outgoing, friendly Caleb soon attracted regular customers. His soda
fountain grew popular as townspeople gathered to socialize.
Caleb is facing to the side in the back row behind the counter at his pharmacy.
7
Caleb Davis bradham: Pepsi-Cola Inventor
b rad’s D rink
In experimenting with
flavors, “Doc” Bradham had a
knack for making people happy!
Behind the counter, Bradham
happily served his customers.
The Pepsi logo from 1898
Soon, Bradham concocted
a drink all his own. He wanted to create something that tasted good
and was also healthy. Some of his competitors used narcotics and
other harmful ingredients. Bradham made sure to use only safe
ingredients. The original drink did not even contain caffeine.
Bradham combined sugar, caramel coloring, rare oils, and
extracts of fruit juices. This created a syrup. The syrup would be
mixed with carbonated water to make a soft drink.
In 1893, the syrup was ready. Bradham promoted the drink
as a health tonic. It was meant to relieve indigestion. But his
customers drank it simply because it tasted so good! Five years later,
people were still ordering “Brad’s Drink.”
8
