Copper City Bottling Works

06 Jun 2026, last revised 18 Jun 2026

Historical local newspapers routinely reported on local businesses, including soda companies, often with great pride for the prospering Copper Country. Hence, it was quite shocking to discover that no local newspaper documented any business event of the Copper City Bottling Works. The bottles certainly indicate that the company was long-lived and successful. We are left to piece together sporadic information from directory listings, annual reports, and the bottles themselves.

Seppala & Waisanen / S. W. R. / Waisanen, Ruuttila, and Lohela

Michigan labor records specified 1907 at the start date of the Copper City Bottling Works (1). Correspondingly, the Copper City Bottling Works was first listed in the 1907 Polk directory (2). In Aug 1907, representatives of the R. L. Polk Co. of Detroit were in Calumet collecting data for their new directory, which was expected to be published in fall (3). Thus, the 1907 directory reflects the state of businesses as of Aug 1907.

The 1907 directory specified Matti Waisanen, Matti Ruuttila, and Matti Lohela for the Copper City Bottling Works (2), but it did not identify their roles in the business. The directory also listed John Seppala as a pop manufacturer (2) but did not say for what bottling works. Seppala resided at the same address as Lohela (2), so Seppala was likely a pop manufacturer for the Copper City Bottling Works.

Curiously, Seppala and Waisanen had two bottles bearing their names for a bottling works in Laurium, and one of the bottles (#139) has a date code for 1907. Thus, it seems likely that Seppala & Waisanen were early proprietors of the Copper City Bottling Works.

It is unknown who was the "John Seppala" involved with the bottling works. The U.S. Federal Census documented as least nine individuals named John Seppala in the Copper Country in 1900 and/or 1910. But none resided in Laurium or had an occupation for a bottling works. John Seppala apparently was a short-term resident of Laurium and employee of the Copper City Bottling Works.

Matti Waisanen was born in Sep 1878 in Finland and immigrated to the U.S. in 1899 (14). He was a copper miner in the 1900 census (14).

The bottles embossed with S. W. R. suggest that the proprietors quickly expanded to Seppala, Waisanen, and Ruuttila.

Matti Ruuttila was born in about 1882 in Finland (12). It is unknown when he immigrated to the U.S. He married Helena Hautapers in Calumet on 29 Jul 1905 (15) but was single in the 1910 census (12).

By the 1907 directory, Lohela was also part of the business (2).

Matti Lohela was born on 26 May 1878 (16) in Finland and immigrated to the U.S. in 1899 (12). He was a miner at the Wolverine Mine when he married Josephine Linna on 14 Jan 1905 (17).

The 1907 directory described the location of the Copper City Bottling Works as on the south side of 1st St., first unit east of Pewabic St. in Laurium (2). The 1908 Sanborn map, however, shows a dwelling at that location. None of the members of the company resided at the bottling works. Lohela and Seppala resided at 145 Iroquois St., Ruuttila boarded at 318 Wolverine St., and Waisanen resided at 609 Isle Royale St., all in Laurium (2).

The 1909 Michigan State directory identified Matt Waisanen as manager of the Copper City Bottling Works (6).

Waisanen, Ruuttila, Lohela, and Tulppo

The 1910 directory specified Matti Waisanen, Matti Ruuttila, Matti Lohela, and Henry Tulppo for the Copper City Bottling Works (4). John Seppala was no longer listed in Laurium (4). The bottling works was now located on the north side of 1st St., first unit east of Pewabic St. in Laurium (4). Waisanen still resided at 609 Isle Royale St., while Lohela, Ruuttila, and Tulppo resided at 123 Iroquois St. in Laurium (4). The directory also listed Wiljo Ruuttila as a bottler for the Copper City Bottling Works, with a residence at 267 Wolverine St. in Laurium (4). The 1910 census listed Ruuttila as a boarder in Lohela's household, but Tulppo was the head of his own household (12). The 1910 census listed Tulppo as a pop maker, Waisanen as a bottler, and Lohela and Ruuttila as teamsters (12).

Henry Tulppo was born on 17 Jun 1868 in Finland (18) and immigrated to the U.S. in 1888 (14). Henry's sister, Greta Tulppo (18,20), was Matti Waisanen's wife (19). He was a copper miner and resident of Laurium in the 1900 census (14).

The bottling works employed three people in 1909 (7), which may have been Waisanen, Ruuttila, and Lohela. It then had four employees in 1911 (8) and five in 1912 (9).

A report by the Michigan Dairy and Food Department shows that Copper City Bottling Works produced the following sodas in 1910: Orange, Jersey Cream, Ginger Ale, White Pop, Sarsaparilla, and Cream Soda (10).

In Mar 1910, Matti Waisanen purchased the South Range Bottling Works from Henry Haapanen (11). Subsequently, the 1910 census recorded him as a resident of South Range and a bottler (12). It appears the R. L. Polk Co. conducted its survey for the 1910 directory early in 1910 before Waisanen moved to South Range.

Lohela, Ruuttila, and Tulppo

The 1912 directory specified Matti Lohela, Matti Ruuttila, and Henry Tulppo for the Copper City Bottling Works (5). The bottling works was now located at 123 Iroquois St., which was also the residence for Ruuttila and Tulppo (5). Lohela's residence moved to 127 Iroquois St. (5).

Lohela

The bottling works had only two employees in 1914 (1). Strangely, the bottling works was not listed in the 1916 directory (13). Ruuttila and Tulppo were no longer listed in Laurium, but Lohela still resided at 127 Iroquois St. (14).

It is evident that the bottling works continued. The Copper City Bottling Works had five employees in 1918 (21). The 1921 directory listed Matt Waisanen in Laurium as a bottler (22), suggesting that he was part of the bottling works again. However, the 1920 census placed him in Cokato Township, Minnesota where he was a farmer (23). He later died on 02 Feb 1951 at the age of 72 or 73 in French Lake, Minnesota (19).

Henry Tulppo did not stay with the bottling works much longer after the 1912 directory. He was a resident of Paynesville and a farmer when he married Anna Illikainen on 04 Dec 1914 (24). He later died on 19 Feb 1921 at the age of 52 in Stannard Township, Ontonagon County (18). He was a woodsman for the Holt Lumber Co. at the time of his death (25).

Matti Lohela was the one that continued the bottling works in the later years. His occupation was "proprietor" for a "pop factory" on the 1920 census (23) and "retail merchant" for "soft drinks" on the 1930 census (26). A 1947/48 directory listed the Copper City Bottling Works at 127 Iroquois St. (27), which was Lohela's residence on the 1912 directory (5). The 1950 census listed Lohela as "proprietor" and "soft drink manufacturer" (28). The Copper City Bottling Works was not listed in the Aug 1953 phonebook (29), so it apparently had closed by then. Matti Lohela later died on 26 Apr 1962 at the age of 83 and was buried in Lake View Cemetery, Calumet (16).

Vincent Vairo & Son

Bottles embossed with VINCENT VAIRO & SON indicate that they were proprietors. Having five different bottles with different plates suggests that they were proprietors long enough to make subsequent orders of bottles. However, we did not find any written documentation of them being involved with the Copper City Bottling Works. Directory and census records tracked proprietors from a group led by Waisanen to a group led by Lohela. These proprietors spanned a duration from 1907, supposedly the year the bottling works started, to 1950, shortly before the bottling worked closed. So, when were Vincent Vairo and his son proprietors of the Copper City Bottling Works?

Vincinso "Vincent" Vairo was born on 22 Jul 1866 in Locana, Italy (30,32) and immigrated to the U.S. in 1889 (30) or 1890 (12). According to his biographies, he arrived in Calumet in 1890 (31), worked as a stone mason and carpenter, moved to Washington, returned to Calumet, worked for the C & H Mining Co. for 22 months, and then became a contractor specializing in stonework and carpentry (30). Vincent was listed as a stone mason in Laurium on the 1900 census (14) and as a contractor in Calumet on the 1910 census (12). His biography did not mention that he ran a saloon (30,31), but he was listed for a saloon on 5th St., Calumet in the 1897 directory (33), and then a saloon on Kearsarge St., Laurium in the 1899, 1901, 1905, and 1907 directories (34,35,36,37). This appears to be the same Vincent Vairo since the 1903 directory listed him as a mason with his residence being on the southside of 1st St., second unit east of Kearsarge St. (38), which the 1908 Sanborn map shows to be on the same corner lot as the saloon. Additionally, there was never more than one Vincent Vairo listed in the same directory or the same census for the Laurium-Calumet area. In May 1909, Vincent sold his saloon interest (39). In Nov 1909, he sold his meat market and grocery business (40), which was shown on the 1908 Sanborn map to be a separate building on the same lot as the saloon. The 1910 directory listed Vincent as the president of the Italian Mutual Fire Insurance Co. (4), a position mentioned in his biography (30). His biography from 1911 also noted that he was president of the Upper Peninsula Society, president of the Alpino Society, director of the First National Bank, and vice-president of the Citizen's League Society (30). He was appointed to postmaster of Laurium in Apr 2010 (41) and ended his four-year term in Apr 2014 (42). He then conducted a general contracting business with Joseph Chatel (42). The 1916 directory listed him as president of the Italian Mutual Fire Insurance Co. (13). He was contractor in Detroit in the 1930 census (26) and had no occupation in the 1940 census (43). Vincent Vairo later died on 22 Dec 1946 at the age of 80 in South Bend, Indiana where he was a resident (32,44).

So, when was Vincent Vairo the proprietor of the Copper City Bottling Works? Since Matti Lohela was involved with the bottling works from at least 1907 to at least 1950, Vincent Vairo was most likely proprietor before Seppala & Waisanen. This would mean that the 1907 start date for the bottling works recorded by the State of Michigan Department of Labor is likely erroneous. It may have been referring to the start of the current company of proprietors and not the start of the bottling works itself. If the bottling works started before 1907, it still would have started after the 1905 directory, since it was not listed in that directory.

Who was Vincent Vairo's son as embossed on the bottles? Vincent had two sons (31), Dominick and John (14). If they were proprietors from c.1905 to c.1907, Dominick would be the most likely son given, in 1905, he would have been 15 years old, while John would have been only 10 years old (14).

The Legacy

Despite operating until at least 1950, the Copper City Bottling Works is not known to have ACL bottles for franchised brands. Likewise, we could not find any ad or listing to indicate that they bottled franchised brands. Lohela's occupation as "soft drink manufacturer" in 1950 suggests that he continued to manufacture his own flavors, as was also the case for Harvey Bottling Works. By comparison, the Keweenaw Bottling Works, South Range Bottling Works, Houghton Bottling Works, Hancock City Bottling Co., and Mattson Bottling Works switched to bottling franchised brands.

Citations

1. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1915. Thirty-Second Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
2. R. L. Polk & Co. 1907. Houghton County Directory 1907-08. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
3. anonymous. (1907, Aug 11). Getting material for new county directory. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 6.
4. R. L. Polk & Co. 1910. 1910 Calumet, Houghton, Hancock and Laurium Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
5. R. L. Polk & Co. 1912. 1912 Calumet, Hancock, Houghton and Laurium Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
6. R. L. Polk & Co. 1909. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1909. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
7. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1910. First Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
8. Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. 1912. Twenty-Ninth Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
9. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1913. Thirtieth Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
10. State of Michigan. 1910. Dairy and Food Department. Bulletin No. 173-178. Jan-June 1910. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co. State Printers. Lansing, MI.
11. anonymous. (1910, Mar 05). Sells pop business. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 12.
12. U.S. Census Bureau. 1910 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
13. R. L. Polk & Co. 1916. Houghton County Directory 1916-17. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
14. U.S. Census Bureau. 1900 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
15. Michigan, Marriages, 1822-1995, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCXV-WRK : 18 February 2021), Matti Ruuttila, 1905.
16. Find a Grave. accessed Jun 2026. Matt Lohela. findagrave.com/memorial/273735439/matt-lohela
17. Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3JQ-M8D : Sun Jan 12 00:23:15 UTC 2025), Entry for Matt Lohela and Abram Lohela, 14 Jan 1905.
18. Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KF7M-8JD : Wed Jul 17 02:27:23 UTC 2024), Entry for Henry Tulppo and John F Tulppo, 19 Feb 1921.
19. Find a Grave. accessed Jun 2026. Matt Waisanen. findagrave.com/memorial/196798082/matt-waisanen
20. FamilySearch. accessed Jun 2026. Family Tree for Matt Waisanen. familysearch.org/en/tree/pedigree/landscape/G917-2VP
21. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1919. Thirty-Sixth Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Fort Wayne Printing Co. Fort Wayne, Indiana.
22. R. L. Polk & Co. 1921. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1921-1922. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
23. U.S. Census Bureau. 1920 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
24. Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3GC-9SQ : Fri Jan 03 08:20:13 UTC 2025), Entry for Henry Tulppa and Frederick Tulppa, 4 Dec 1914.
25. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records (accessed on ancestry.com).
26. U.S. Census Bureau. 1930 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
27. The Daily Mining Gazette. 1947 or 1948. Copper Country Classified Business and Professional Directory. Houghton, MI.
28. U.S. Census Bureau. 1950 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
29. Michigan Bell Telephone Company. Aug 1953. Telephone Directory Houghton-Hancock Calumet-Laurium Lake Linden-Hubbel. Michigan Bell Telephone Company.
30. Sawyer, A. L. 1911. A History of the Northern Peninsula of Michigan and its People. The Lewis Publishing Company. Chicago, IL.
31. anonymous. (1916, Apr 15). Vincent Vairo. The Keweenaw Miner (Mohawk, MI). p. 12.
32. Find a Grave. accessed Jun 2026. Vincinso "Vincent" Vairo. findagrave.com/memorial/160013274/vincinso-vairo
33. R. L. Polk & Co. 1897. Houghton County Directory 1897-98. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
34. R. L. Polk & Co. 1899. Houghton County Directory 1899-1900. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
35. R. L. Polk & Co. 1901. Houghton County Directory 1901-02. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
36. R. L. Polk & Co. 1905. Houghton County Directory 1905-06. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
37. R. L. Polk & Co. 1907. Houghton County Directory 1907-08. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
38. R. L. Polk & Co. 1903. Houghton County Directory 1903-04. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
39. anonymous. (1909, May 01). Calumet-Laurium brevities. The Evening Journal (Hancock, MI). p. 6.
40. anonymous. (1909, Nov 23). Calumet. The Evening Copper Journal. (Hancock, MI). p. 6.
41. anonymous. (1910, Apr 23). Calumet-Laurium brevities. The Evening Copper Journal (Hancock, MI). p. 3.
42. anonymous. (1914, Apr 21). Very successful term. The Calumet News (Calumet, MI). p. 5.
43. U.S. Census Bureau. 1940 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
44. Indiana State Board of Health. Division of Vital Records. Certificate of Death. Vincent J. Vairo. posted on Find a Grave for Vincent J. Vairo.