We’re not entirely sure who first bottled Coca-Cola in La Porte. The earliest examples we know of are hobble-skirt bottles from 1915 with “La Porte, IND.” embossed on the base.
We do know that the straight-sided bottles from the late 1920s to early 1930s were bottled by Luebker & Voegler Bros. at 215 Washington Street, as indicated by the “L & V” embossing on the bases.
Sometime between 1940 and 1943, the bottling plant moved to 205 Rumely Street. The exact closing date of the plant remains unknown to us, and further research will be needed.
1929 — Luebker & Voegler Bros. (Louis H Luebker, Louis H and Herman E Voegler), Coca Cola Bottling Works, 215 Washington St. at the corner of Linwood Ave.
1931 — Coca Cola Bottling Works (Louis H Luebker, Louis H and Herman E Voegler), 215 Washington St.
1938 & 1940 — Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 211 Washington St., Phone 1471.
1943 & 1947 & 1954 — Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 205 Rumely St., Telephone 3711.
1960 — Coca-Cola Bottling Co. La Porte, Indiana Inc., 205 Rumely St., Telephone 5194.
Bottle Type: 7 oz., machine-made crown-top soda bottle.
Embossing: COCA-COLA / BOTTLING WORKS / LA PORTE, IND.
Glass Maker: ROOT (embossed on heel of both bottles), Root Glass Company, Terre Haute, Indiana.
Other Marks: “L & V” (embossed on both bases), “30 S” (embossed on the base of the bottle on the right).
Notes:
Photo Credit: Indiana Bottle Collectors
Bottle Type: 6 oz., machine-made crown-top soda bottle. Hobble-skirt Coca-Cola.
Embossing:
Glass Maker:
Other Marks:
Notes: “Christmas Coke,” patented December 25, 1923.
There are many different years of hobble-skirt bottles, but here we’re showing just one example. Some date marks run into the 1950s, and La Porte also has bottles with the 1915 date.
Photo Credit: Indiana Bottle Collectors
