The Nehi Bottling Company of Bluefield, VA started out around 1930 with Hugh Falls as President, and Allen B. Hatcher as Vice President.(1) The plant was located on Tazewell Avenue near Walnut Street, and is actually built at the point that Tazewell Avenue crosses the creek. Hugh Falls was a native of Bedford County, and a pipe smoker who also collected vintage pipes as a 1937 blurb in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph about his exhibiting a 125 year old brier pipe at a local hobby show attests to.(1) Allen B. Hatcher was a cousin of Hugh Falls who had built a business in Beckley, WV prior to their organizing the Nehi Bottling Company of Bluefield. The company moved to 409 Virginia Avenue in August 1934.(2) They took over the building that had housed the Barbee Manufacturing Company, who had produced overalls, on the second floor, and an auto sales and service business on the bottom floor. A month after their move a fire at the neighboring lumber plant gutted their former location.(2)

Thomas A. Arms purchased Allen B. Hatcher’s interest in the company in February 1935, and it was believed that Hatcher would move back to Beckly, WV. Thomas’ son, John T. Arms, had been employed by the company several years prior to this, and would continue on with the company. (2) Nehi Bottling Company of Bluefield was incorporated on April 1, 1935 with Hugh Falls as President, Thomas A. Arms as Vice President, and John T. Arms as Secretary & Treasurer, all of Bluefield, VA.(3) Like many bottling companies at the time the Nehi Bottling Company distributed beer after the repeal of Prohibition, their first being Berghoff Beer in 1934.(2) Nehi ceased operations of the bottling plant by the end of 1984, and agreed to sell everything to All-American Bottling Corp; however, All-American decided that they couldn’t operate profitably from the location by June 1985, and abandoned the building. I just noticed that in 1912 the present owner of the building has torn it down.

First location on Tazewell Avenue

Second location on Virginia Avenue

Grape Nehi Cap from Bluefield, VA

Advertisement from May 1, 1931 from the Clinch Valley News

6oz Rums Dry Ginger Ale bottle dated 1938

Advertisement for beer from August 24, 1939

6oz Rums Dry Ginger Ale bottle dated 1940

Advertisement from May 19, 1939

12oz Nehi bottle dated 1942

7oz Nehi bottle dated 1947

Advertisement from April 15, 1939

12oz Royal Crown Cola bottle dated 1952

12oz Rums Dry bottle dated 1952

12oz Par-T-Pak Ginger Ale bottle dated 1953

12oz Nehi bottle dated 1954

12oz Royal Crown Cola bottle dated 1956

12oz Nehi bottle dated 1956

12oz Par-T-Pak Ginger Ale bottle dated 1958

12oz Upper Ten King Size bottle dated 1958

An ad for Diet Rite Cola in steel cans from January 28, 1960. I doubt that they had the capacity to produce soda in cans. It is more likely they were distributing them.

12oz Nehi bottle dated 1960

Advertisement from September 22, 1961 for Royal Crown's 16oz bottle

16oz Gatorade bottle dated 1969 still filled with a Gatorade Cola cap from Bluefield, VA

Advertisement 1970 for Gatorade

32oz Par-T-Pak Ginger Ale from 1972. No town name, but it was found just a couple of miles up the road from the plant.

A Royal Crown Crate from Bluefield, VA

A Royal Crown Crate from Bluefield, VA

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