Who out there in blogland remembers the soda fountain?
I do! I do!
The soda fountain was part of Americana from the turn of the 20th Century to the 1970s. In the early 1920s, nearly every respectable (and profit-seeking) pharmacist owned a combination drugstore/soda fountain. Prohibition, which became law in 1919, apparently was a huge catalyst in making the soda fountain popular. With the closing of all the bars, the soda fountain became the place to go for socializing.
After prohibition was repealed, the soda fountain still played a major role in society. It was the place for teenagers to see and be seen. I was on the tail end of the soda fountain phenomenon. By the time I had a spare dime and was old enough to be on my own in a fairly big town, the soda fountain was nearly extinct. It still was a meeting place for my junior high school friends and me to slurp fountain cherry or vanilla cokes and a few of the retired folk in the community still gathered for an early, early supper of grilled cheese or egg salad sandwiches, a slice or two of tomato, topped off with a strong cup of coffee and conversation.
Soda fountains were no match for the fast food joints that began to appear at every street corner nor for the vending machines that dropped a cold soda into your hands with no waiting or tipping necessary. I can’t think of a single soda fountain remaining in Madison, nor in my hometown in Illinois, for that matter.
Too bad. I loved sitting up at the counter, twirling back and forth on those metal seats, chatting (ahem . . flirting) with the soda jerk, or sitting at a back table with a few friends, going over the minutia of the day. And just imagine – there were no iPods, cell phones, or laptops in sight. Only people talking to each other, face to face.