According to burial records and U.S. Census data, Louis Charles Sage was born in Ashtabula, Ohio in 1874. Some census records list his birth year as 1872 or 1873, but his gravestone gives only the year 1874. Census ages were often reported inaccurately, while gravestones typically reflect the family’s accepted or official birth year.
He married Lillian May Rogers in 1893.
The 1899 La Porte County directory and the 1900 U.S. Census list his occupation as a plater, a metal worker.
Because city directories were not published every year, there is a gap in listings between 1907 and 1910. The 1910 directory lists Sage under soft drinks. His quart bottles are tooled crown tops, one embossed “8-S” on the heel, which may indicate a 1908 date code, and another marked “S-12,” possibly indicating 1912. Based on this evidence, we can estimate that Sage bottled soft drinks from around 1908 into the late 1910s, and possibly the early 1920s. He is not listed as a bottler or soft drink manufacturer in the 1923 directory.
Sage’s business had a long history in La Porte. His son, Alfred L. Sage, took over the ice cream and confectionery business sometime in the 1920s or early 1930s. Again, because directories were not produced every year, exact dates are difficult to determine. The later history of Sage’s will be covered at another time and added to the updates section.
Louis C. Sage died in 1947 and is buried at Saint John’s Cemetery in La Porte with his wife, who also died that year.
1) LAPORTE – Services took place today for Louis C. Sage, aged 73, pioneer ice cream manufacturer. The South Bend Tribune, August 5, 1947.
1902 – Sage, Louis C. (May), ice cream and plating, 202 B Street.
1907 – Sage, Louis C. (May), ice cream manufacturer, residence at 202 B Street.
1910 – Sage, L. C. (May), ice cream manufacturer, wholesale and retail; also sherbets, brick ice cream, and ices; soft drinks of all kinds, 202 B Street, phone 387.
1913 – Sage, Louis C., ice cream manufacturer; soda and mineral water bottler, 202 B Street; residence the same (M. Lillian).
1923 – Sage, Louis C., ice cream manufacturer at 202 B Street; residence the same (M. Lillian). Not listed as a bottler or soft drink manufacturer.
1924 – Sage, Louis C., ice cream manufacturer at 204 B Street; residence the same (M. Lillian).
1926 – Sage, Louis C., residence at 202 B Street (M. Lillian).
1929 – Sage, Louis C., residence at 202 B Street (May L.).
1931 – Sage Ice Cream Co. (Alfred L. Sage), rear 209 C Street.
1938 – Sage’s Confectionery (A. Sage), 204 Second Street, phone 387.
1943 – Sage Ice Cream Manufacturing and Confectionery, A. L. Sage, proprietor, 204 Second Street.
Bottle Type: Quart, tooled crown top.
Embossing: SAGE’S BOTTLING WORKS / L.C. SAGE / PROP. / LA PORTE, IND.
Glass Maker: A B Co (embossed on base), American Bottle Company.
Other Marks: THIS BOTTLE IS NEVER SOLD (embossed on front near bottom), “8-S” (embossed on heel).
Notes:
Photo Credit: Indiana Bottle Collectors
