HISTORY OF NAGEL BEVERAGE The history of Nagel Beverage Company dates to September 20, 1895 when 26-year old John Henry Nagel of Baker City, Oregon discovered a business opportunity in Boise. He purchased the Soda Water Company of Ada County for the purpose of selling and delivering of soda water to ten area saloons. John, a German immigrant who moved to the United States in 1880 as a teenager, started his business at 6th and Main Streets in downtown Boise. He grew Nagel Beverage Company by bottling Squirt, Hires Root Beer and flavored soda waters during the early 1900’s. In 1919 he relocated the business to 1310 Main Street in downtown Boise, site of the current Idaho Mountain Touring business. In 1935, he acquired the exclusive franchise rights to bottle and sell Pepsi-Cola in Boise and ten counties of southwestern Idaho. That same year, he obtained the franchise rights to eight counties in the Twin Falls area in a partnership with the Levander family. John H. Nagel died in 1940. John Fredrick Nagel took over and continued to grow the by adding modern bottling equipment throughout the 1940’s. He married Mildred E. Evans of Mountain Home November 22, 1933 in Walla Walla Washington. While attending Boise Junior College, Mildred studied to be a registered nurse, and received her Idaho registered nursing certificate in July 1931. However, after her marriage to John, she focused her attention to raising two children, Anne born in 1938, and Jack born in 1942. John F. Nagel spent most the next 30 years developing the beverage business, and passed away in 1969. The 1960’s defined Pepsi via new advertising campaigns that took the country by storm. For the next 30 years, Pepsi would develop some of the most memorable advertising of that era, “The Pepsi Generation”. As the 60’s moved into the 70’s, the Pepsi brand experienced tremendous growth, driven by new television advertising featuring the themes “Come Alive! You’re in the Pepsi Generation”, “Taste that beats the others cold, Pepsi pours it on” and “You’ve got a lot to live. Pepsi’s got a lot to give”. It was during Pepsi’s new growth period Jack Nagel took the helm of the third-generation family business. Jack made the necessary changes to keep up with increasing sales. In 1972 he purchased property and built a new bottling and distribution facility at 5465 Irving Street in Boise. An addition doubled the size of the warehouse in 1982. Jack Nagel passed away in 1988. Jack’s mother Mildred and his sister Anne Mathews assumed leadership of the company, and Vance Miller moved into the role of general manager, then CEO in 1992. It was in 1989 that the idea of a foundation formed to honor the memories of Mildred’s late-husband and son was brought to the forefront, and the John F. Nagel Foundation was born. In 1991, the foundation made its first grants totaling $34,000 to four charitable organizations. New offices and other facilities were added to the 8-acre Irving Street site in 1994 during unprecedented industry growth. Nagel Beverage celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1995. Mildred Nagel passed away in 2003. Continued growth and changing needs led to the construction of new manufacturing, sales and distribution facilities in Nampa in 2004. The state-of-the-art facilities contained new bottling and canning lines, 250,000 square feet under roof and new offices, with room for expansion on a 35-acre campus. Nagel Beverage Company was sold to Pepsi Bottling Ventures of Raleigh North Carolina in February 2009, concluding the 113-year history of the locally-owned family business. The John F. Nagel Foundation stands as an ongoing tribute to the family and continues to give back to the community.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 02:40:35 +0000
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