Bottles on the Border: The History and Bottles of the Soft Drink ...

Heel: Bare
Base: Embossed - the “buckle” logo of the Western Glass Manufacturing Co.
Manufacturer: Western Glass Manufacturing Co. (1900-1909) (Clint 1976:37; McDougald &
McDougald 1990)
Dating: [ca. 1903-1907] The Douglas branch was probably completed in late 1903, and Dieter
almost certainly ordered bottles by then. Both crown-topped and Hutchinson bottles were
probably used concurrently during the entire period.
Collection(s): Becky Garrett Collection; Mike Miller (Colorado) collection; Mike Miller
(Arizona) collection; author’s collection.
Dieter & Sauer (at least 1898-1907)
History
J. Phillip Dieter was involved in a second firm that was less well known, at least in El
Paso. Along with his partner, George D. Sauer, he founded the firm of Dieter & Sauer in Ciudad
Juárez, Mexico. Although the firm was first listed in the El Paso City Directory at the northwest
corner of Calle del Comercia and Avenida Lerdo in 1898, it was probably in existence earlier,
possibly as the second branch of the bottling works mentioned in the 1882 Times article. At least
one Hutchinson-finished soda bottle embossed with the name, Dieter & Sauer, still remains as
evidence that the company produced sodas at one time. In apparent competition with Houck &
Dieter, the company promoted Apollinaris Company Mineral Water in 1898. Dieter & Sauer
advertised itself as “transporters and jobbers, groceries, liquors, wines, cigars” (EPCD 1898-89;
EPT 1/1/1882 2:3).
In 1906, the company moved across the Rio Grande to locate at 210 San Francisco St.
with George D. Sauer as manager. The timing of the move is interesting but requires some
background information. On March 17, 1858, Gobernador Guerra of the Mexican estado of
Tamaulipas issued a decree establishing a Zona Libre (free zone) along his state’s adjoining
border with the American state of Texas. The Zona Libre granted bordering towns special
exemptions from the exorbitant tariff duties required by Mexico. For most of the nineteenth
century, the zone remained active only in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, but Mexico extended the
Zona Libre to the Pacific Ocean (including El Paso, Mexico – later Ciudad Juárez) on March 25,
1884. These conditions encouraged firms in El Paso, Texas, to establish branches in El Paso,
Mexico, or relocate across the Rio Grande. It is likely that Dieter & Sauer had chosen their
location to take advantage of the zone’s favorable trade conditions. Mexican President Benito
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