A. Huckels & Co. -The Story of a Bottle- Thanks to Jaan Kolk

Linda, I thank you for all your research into your local soda water bottlers.

You have a great future treasure in your town. Adin Daigle is a very keen collector of Carleton Place and area history. You also are lucky to have Scott Wallace. Please involve Adin in research projects and mentor him in research. One day this will pay off in preserving the local history for generations to come.

I have a challenge for you. I have two bottles from A. Huckels & Co. from Ottawa. I cannot find information them. He has a flag for a logo. No one has been able to tell me the significance of the flag. Perhaps you can unlock this secret?

I hope you join our hobby, it holds lots of history and we have some passionate collectors like Adin and Scott. You would be very welcomed.–Glen William Gordon–

Linda says: We are on this Glen– with my Ottawa historian friend Jaan Kolk

Photos of bottles by Glen William Gordon-

^{Jaan Kolk}

Jaan Kolk—In 1901, A Huckels and Co. was at 326-328 Queen street, with about 8 employees. By 1909, Huckels and his company had moved to nearby 181-185 Lyon Street.

Jaan Kolk This is pure speculation, but given that the flagship ( 😉 ) product was “German Seltzer”, the flag in the trademark may have represented the National and merchant flag of the German Empire, 1871-1918, which was three stripes: black, white, red. From the 1901 city directory:

Image may contain: text that says '(A Huckels & Co), Huckels Alexander h 326 Queen HUCKELS A & co (Alexander Huck- els, Frederick Cirkel) ,Mineral and Aerated Waters and Bottlers, 326- 328 Queen, Telephone 1082'

Jaan Kolk—The company was established in Ottawa in 1894. Here is an ad from the Citizen, June 29, 1894

Jaan Kolk A note from the Citizen, Sept. 27, 1895 on the display at the Exhibition

Jaan Kolk–In 1912, The A. Huckels operation was taken over to become the Ottawa branch of major beverage producer J.J. McLaughlin Ltd. (of Canada Dry Ginger Ale fame), retaining the same 1082 phone number. From the Citizen, Mar. 29, 1912

Jaan Kolk—I could not find much mention of Alexander himself in the papers, except for this incident you might find amusing, Linda: Alexander was assaulted by Johnny “Dixie” McDowall, “America’s oldest newsboy.” From the Citizen, Aug. 25, 1910

Linda Seccaspina

Ottawa Daily Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
07 Jun 1894, Thu • Page 8

Ottawa Daily Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
07 Aug 1894, Tue • Page 7

According to a research book the A. Huckels & Co. were one of Ottawa’s larger bottlers and operated from 1894-1911 and then seem to disappear. Their bottles were also smaller from the typical soda water bottle possibly 6 ounces or 7.5 ounces in size. The Huckel family was well known in the Ottawa area and when I get a chance I will write about Benjamin and the tragedies he went through.

The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
17 Jan 1900, Wed • Page 7

Alexander Huckels was of German descent and as Jaan Kolk said given that the flagship product was “German Seltzer”, the flag in the trademark may have represented the National and merchant flag of the German Empire. Mr. Davis was noted as one of the managers of the company.

The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
29 Aug 1895, Thu • Page 3

The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
15 Dec 1898, Thu • Page 6

Huckel’s was once located at 326-328 Queen Street in Ottawa-328 Queen St. E. has been vacant for more than a decade. It was extensively damaged in a 2009 by a fire that was blamed on faulty wiring.