National Botting Works
Mattson Bottling Works

18 Nov 2021, last revised 26 Apr 2025

The National Bottling Works was one of the last soda companies to start in the Copper Country, but it survived well into the ABM age.

In Mar 1909, "Matt Mattson and P. A. Ruona of Ishpeming" (initials should have been K. A.) purchased, from the North Star Temperance Society, the property on the corner of Scott St. and Hancock St. where they would establish a bottling works for soft drinks and mineral waters (28). Matt Mattson was renovating the property in Apr 1909 for what would be known as the National Bottling Works (2). The 1910 Polk directory identified the proprietors as August Ruona and Matt Mattson, with Ruona residing in Ishpeming and Mattson residing in Hancock (1).

Kustaa Adolf Ruona was born on 25 Sep 1869 in Finland (31) and immigrated to the U.S. in 1889 (22,23). He first settled in Calumet, and then moved to Ishpeming in 1890 where he worked in the iron mines for 12 years (23). The Ishpeming City directory listed August Ruona as a miner during the 1890s (3,4,5). After acquiring sufficient funds, he established the Ishpeming Bottling Works in 1902 (23,6-9). He served as a director of Suomi College in Hancock from about 1914 (23), so he clearly maintained ties to the Copper Country.

Matt Mattson was born on 27 Mar 1881 in Finland (10) and immigrated to the U.S. in 1899 (11) or 1900 (12). He first resided in Ishpeming (30) and was married there on 16 Aug 1902 (13). After four years in Ishpeming, he moved the family to Hancock (30).

The bottling works was located on the northwest corner of Scott St. and Hancock St. (1).

Sanborn map - Aug 1917

The business was quite small, with only two employees in 1910 (18), three in 1913 (19), and two in 1915 (20).

At some point, the partnership between Ruona and Mattson dissolved. The 1916 directory was the last to list them together (14), and the last bottle to bear both of their names was dated to 1917. The 1921 directory then listed only Matt Mattson (15), and the first bottle to bear only Mattson's name was dated to 1921. Thus, the partnership apparently dissolved sometime between 1917 and 1921. Kustaa Ruona later died on 07 Nov 1942 in Negaunee at the age of 73 (31) and was buried in Ishpeming Cemetery (21).

Likewise, at some point, the National Bottling Works was renamed the Mattson Bottling Works. A Michigan Department of Labor inspection in 1919 listed "National Bottling Works" (24), and the last bottle embossed with NATIONAL BOTTLING WORKS was dated to 1923. But the first bottle embossed with MATTSON BOTTLING WORKS was dated to 1922. Thus, there was overlap in the use of the names, and it appears the transition occurred around 1922. Subsequently, the 1927 directory listed the "Mattson Bottling Works" (27).

After a four-month illness (30), Mattson died on 03 Apr 1925 at the age of 44 and was buried in Lakeside Cemetery, Hancock (17). The bottling works, however, continued to operate. The 1930 directory listed Louis A. Pasula as manager (16). H. A. Mattson was identified as proprietor in Jan 1934 (29).

From the 1930s, the bottling works bottled franchised brands. King's Court Club Soda was introduced in Jan 1934 (29). O-C Cola was advertised in Sep 1935. The 1947/1948 directory had an ad that included Orange Crush, Howel's Root Beer, and Squirt (26). In addition, a bottle exists for Black Kow.

Newspaper ad - Jan 1933

Newspaper ad - Sep 1935

Newspaper ad - Aug 1936

The bottling works was called "Mattson Bottling Co." in the 1939 Polk directory (25) and a 1947/1948 directory (26). It is unknown when the bottling works closed, but the latest ABM bottle dates to 1952, so it lasted to at least then.

ABM bottle label

ABM bottle label

ABM bottle label

Citations

1. R. L. Polk & Co. 1910. 1910 Calumet, Houghton, Hancock and Laurium Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
2. anonymous. (1909, Apr 09). Hancock brevities. The Calumet News (Calumet, MI). p. 3.
3. R. L. Polk & Co. 1894. 1894 Ishpeming City Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
4. R. L. Polk & Co. 1899. 1899 Ishpeming City Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
5. R. L. Polk & Co. 1901. 1901 Ishpeming City Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
6. R. L. Polk & Co. 1908. 1908 Ishpeming City Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
7. R. L. Polk & Co. 1910. 1910 Ishpeming City Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
8. R. L. Polk & Co. 1912. 1912 Ishpeming City Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
9. R. L. Polk & Co. 1916. 1916 Ishpeming City Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
10. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records (accessed on ancestry.com).
11. U.S. Census Bureau. 1910 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
12. U.S. Census Bureau. 1920 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
13. Michigan, U.S., Marriage Records, 1867-1952 (accessed on ancestry.com).
14. R. L. Polk & Co. 1916. Houghton County Directory 1916-17. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
15. R. L. Polk & Co. 1921. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1921-1922. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
16. R. L. Polk & Co. 1930. Polk’s Hancock (Michigan) Directory 1930. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
17. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records (accessed on ancestry.com).
18. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1911. Second Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
19. Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. 1914. Thirty-First Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
20. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1916. Thirty-Third Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
21. Find a Grave. accessed Feb 2022. Kustaa Adolf Ruona. findagrave.com/memorial/186889545/kustaa-adolf-ruona
22. U.S. Census Bureau. 1930 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
23. Fuller, G. N. 1926. Historic Michigan: Land of the Great Lakes, Vol. III - A History of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. National Historical Association, Inc.
24. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1920. Thirty-Seventh Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
25. R. L. Polk & Co. 1939. Polk’s Hancock (Michigan) Directory 1939. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
26. The Daily Mining Gazette. 1947 or 1948. Copper Country Classified Business and Professional Directory. Houghton, MI.
27. R. L. Polk & Co. 1927. Polk’s Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1927-1928. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
28. anonymous. (1909, Mar 12). City news in brief. The Evening Journal (Hancock, MI). p. 8.
29. anonymous. (1934, Jan 19). New beverage, made in Hancock, on sale. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
30. anonymous. (1925, Apr 04). Matt Mattson is summoned. The Calumet News (Calumet, MI). p. 3.
31. Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFQW-PSN : Fri Mar 08 20:31:14 UTC 2024), Entry for Kustaa Adolf Ruona and Erik Ruona, 07 Nov 1942.