weekly seriesIt began with a bottle, not in the usual way as a tragedy, but a mystery. Tinted blue and clearly old, the heavy glass bottle is imperfect with numerous bubbles frozen forever in the medium. A surprising embossed brand on its body: Zarembo Springs Mineral Co., Seattle, Washington. After an impulse purchase, I still wondered, what was its story? Here is the answer.
As settlers entered the area, they used the island for deer hunting, logging, and as a sort of nearby vacation destination. Early 20th-century Alaska sources are rife with tales of multi-day trips packed with picnics, food, and even some mild frolicking. Maybe even some undocumented cavorting. From a 1909 Wrangell Sentinel article, “It took half a dozen boys, more or less, 14 guns, the schooner Plymouth Rock, and one Scripps motor, etc.
The Zarembo Island spring conveniently issues on the shore by St. John Harbor, on the island’s northwest side. The water possesses a relatively high mineral content, primarily calcium, carbonate, and sodium, in addition to some sulfur and iron. Covered at high tide, the water overhead bubbles from the spring’s release.As is the way with much of modern Alaska history, someone finally looked at the spring and thought, “I could make some money off that.
There are a few signs of success. A 1908 note in the Douglas Island News claimed Zarembo Mineral Water sales were “five times greater than a year ago.” There was an impressive display at the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle, where judges awarded the company a gold medal for their mineral water. And in August 1909, the mineral water was featured during Made in Washington Day, a celebration of products from the state of Washington.
The iron content was also reportedly low enough to escape taste but high enough to stain bottles. And the Zarembo company entered a market already rich in competition. Mineral water brands like Buffalo Lithia, Aspenta, Bythinea, Red Cross, Hirano, Apollinaris, Red Raven Splits, Hunyadi János, U-Ran-Go, and many others, each with their own medicinal claims and romantic origins, clogged Seattle grocery store and pharmacy shelves.