Nesbitt’s Orange and 7-Up signs on the former Arola Bottling Works building, which had a grand opening in 1938. This photo was taken by Ann Fisher in 2009 when the building was an antique store. (Photo courtesy of the Marquette Regional History Center)

Local history contains countless little nuggets of information — people, places, events and stories. Some places, like Andy’s Bar or the Alibi, are remembered well by former Northern Michigan University students. Others are more hidden, only remembered by a few people, like the story of Denis Hughes’ forged wills (see the current MRHC newsletter). At times the stories become local legends and myths. At the MRHC, we try to find and research those interesting stories from around the area and share them with the wider community.

One of the stories we recently came across is the Arola Bottling Works of Republic. Like many immigrants, Henry Arola immigrated to the United States in 1884 alone, leaving his wife Marie and son John behind in Finland. Henry settled in Republic, working in the iron mines. Five years later his family came to join him. A second son, Earl Henry was born around 1900.

Around 1908, Henry started to make soda in the basement of the family home. Family members believe it was served to friends and family after taking a sauna. Soon, friends began requesting more of the soda and the family began producing on a larger scale, using the sales to augment Henry’s miner’s pay.

The business slowly expanded, making deliveries to other towns in the area. Around 1915, fifteen-year-old Earl joined his father in the family business. Soon it was necessary to employ others to help with washing bottles, mixing the syrup with the carbonated water, bottling the soda and keeping the work area and tools clean.

In 1927 the Arolas acquired the franchise to make Howdy Orange. The following year, after the Republic Mine had closed, the family had the family’s backyard sauna remodeled to house the expanding business. They added an upstairs and purchased new machinery, increasing production capacity to 107 cases of seven-ounce bottles a day. Delivery routes now included all of Marquette County and parts of northern Dickinson County.

In 1936, they obtained the franchise to make 7-UP. Soon they were looking for a larger facility, purchasing a building on Kloman Avenue that had formerly been a livery stable and service garage for cars. The new facility made it possible to fill eighty cases of seven-ounce bottles an hour.

A grand opening was held Monday, January 24, 1938, at the Pine Grove Bar across the street from the new factory. That night the region was hit with “the biggest snow storm of the century.” [This is the same blizzard during which the Marquette Opera House burned down]. The Arolas had difficulty reaching their home, just half a block away, while many guests were stranded in Republic until Thursday when the roads were finally cleared.

Eventually a third generation joined the business with the addition of Earl Melvin “Mel,” Earl Henry’s son, following his service during World War II. Another new plant was erected two miles south of Republic in 1962. This facility handled larger (ten-ounce) soda bottles. At one point the business employed thirteen people and served all of Marquette and Alger Counties. They also became a distributor for Budweiser beer products.

The Arola Bottling Works discontinued bottling operations in 1976 due to the shift to cans and larger soda bottles. For several years they distributed products manufactured elsewhere, including Iron Mountain. The family sold most of the business to Peninsula Beverage Company of Iron Mountain in January 1981, with their Budweiser beer franchise going to LRN Distributors Inc. of Marquette.

The Marquette Regional History Center has been sharing these interesting stories and trivia for years. Now, after a two-year hiatus, come test your knowledge of Upper Peninsula history during our Third Annual Trivia Night hosted by Jim Koski on Wednesday, April 6, 6:30 p.m.

This year we are drawing all questions from our Mining Journal “Superior History” column, programs, exhibits and Harlow’s Wooden Man quarterly newsletter going back to our last Trivia Night in 2019. (There might even be a trivia answer in this article).

Form a team, join us, and win prizes! Registration is open now until 6:00 pm that night. $5/person; teams of 4-5. No notes this year! Bring your own libations. We’ll have snacks.

Call 906-226-3571 for more information or to register.