Showing posts with label Mississippi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mississippi. Show all posts

Monday, February 16, 2009

Does Hebe Give You The Heebie Jeebies?

These are some photos I took of the lovely Bloom Fountain in Vicksburg. It was installed in 1927 near the city rose garden thanks to a bequest of $6,500 in the will of Louis Bloom. The statue is of Hebe, the Greek goddess who personified the eternal beauty of youth. (Is this Vicksburg's "Fountain of Youth"?) Hebe is pronounced correctly two ways: "Hebe" as in "Hebrew" or "Heebie" as in "Heebie Jeebies". Hebe was the cup bearer of the Greek gods on Mt. Olympus serving them ambrosia carried in her pitcher from the cup in her hand at their heavenly feasts. (However only plain water drips from the cup in her hand at this fountain.) In addition, Hebe was the patron goddess of young brides and also the attendant of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. TMI I know but I like trivia. Some people who stare at Hebe's face of the Bloom Fountain statue think her eyes and expression are strange which makes some viewers nervous thus giving them the "Heebie Jeebies". Personally I like her serene gaze. What do you think?

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Coca-Cola In Bottles: Brilliant Vicksburg Idea In 1894

Have you ever heard the expression: "If we could put that in a bottle and sell it, we could make a fortune"? Well, in 1894 here in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Joseph Biedenharn, owner of a candy company and soda fountain, got the brilliant and novel idea to put his soda fountain Coca-Colas into bottles and distribute them by the case to stores and small towns throughout this region so that folks could buy them already mixed and ready made to take home. (In early days people craving a soft drink had to go to a soda fountain where they were mixed with syrup and carbonated water at the counter and served in glasses.) His bottled Coca-Colas became wildly popular, and as they say, the rest is history. Cokes and other bottled soft drinks are now sold all over the world. Canned soft drinks came much later. Click on the word IDEA in the title of this post above and also on my righthand sidebar link to visit the web site of the Coca-Cola Museum here in Vicksburg.