As noted in this blog previously, the naturally hot mineral water seeping down from the hills above the old La Vida resort, north of Carbon Canyon Road, just a short distance east of today's Olinda Village, was bottled and sold throughout western America from the late 1920s.
Over the years, there were various sized bottle of the product, ranging from 7 ounces on up to the quart and a wide variety of flavors, including lemon-lime, cherry, root beer, grape, strawberry, grapefruit, and more.
There was a bottling facility on the premises, which had a Placentia rural route mail delivery address, as well as in downtown Fullerton. There were branches of the company elsewhere, such as in Sacramento.
Advertisements in newspapers and magazines, especially in the early days of the end of the Twenties and in the early Thirties, touted the health benefits from drinking the water and testimonials from homeopathic doctors, regular users and others claimed that La Vida water was a restorative product sure to help out others.
Whether or not the flavored mineral water actually delivered on the promises and hype, the product had a long life and seemed to have been pretty successful for a number of years prior to the 1960s. Having this crate, even if a little worse for wear, along with a good sampling of bottles from the company, is a nice addition to a decent little collection of artifacts related to La Vida.
5 comments:
Just picked up a quart sized bottle for La Vida today at a yard sale. Has a glass lid too. She told me to look up the company. Interesting history
Hello JDazed, I wonder if glass lids or caps were rare. Glad you found some good info on La Vida. Thanks for checking out the Chronicle!
I have a bottle of it given to me by the granson, wonder if its worth anything
Hi Unknown, check out listings on eBay--there are sometimes La Vida bottles listed there, though the offered prices can vary a lot. There are also bottle collectors who have online and print guides with prices. Good luck.
Thanks!
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