From spoons to vending machines, check out this Gatineau's man Coca-Cola collection
Many enjoy the taste, while others collect everything with the famous Coca-Cola logo on it.
Claude of Gatineau, Que. says he’s one of thousands in Canada who collect Coca-Cola items.
“You know, it's a really iconic brand. You could collect Pepsi or 7Up, but there's a really big group of Coca-Cola collectors in the U.S. and Canada, and I'm in touch with a bunch of them."
Claude's collection has just about everything you could think of – signs, glasses, clocks, lamps, chairs, to bigger items like a functioning vending machine from 1956, which he purchased from someone in Ottawa.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
His kitchen and dining area is filled with red, and the famous logos everywhere. He estimates there are about 180 items in the collection.
One of his prized items is a more than 125-year-old syrup dispenser, “that they gave to high volume Coke distributors, soda fountains and pharmacies."
"This is from 1896, and it was like a showpiece to put on their counter that they had to sell 100 gallons a year in order to be given this syrup dispenser,” he tells CTV News Ottawa.
Claude even showed an unopened bottle of Coca-Cola from 1905, as well as other original bottles. There is even a Coca-Cola cuckoo clock, which has a small bottle that pops out.
Claude says the collection all started a decade ago with a straw holder, while battling with his health.
“I was diagnosed with throat cancer, and it was stage four, so it was really serious. And I went through a year of battling it and it was tough. I mean, it was really hard. And after I came out of it slowly, like I said, I don't know, I just was killing time, going online, looking at things.”
He purchased the straw holder on E-Bay, and “I just started collecting little bits and pieces," he says.
While he says he’s not buying anymore items as of now, he’s always browsing. He does drink the occasional Coke, but says he prefers drinking Diet Coke. Just don’t offer him a Pepsi, “no, no, I’m Coke all the way.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump will nominate Matt Gaetz as attorney general, Tulsi Gabbard as national security director
President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will nominate Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as his attorney general, putting a loyalist in the role of the nation's top prosecutor.
The Canadian border is an 'extreme vulnerability,' says Trump's pick; Miller predicts 'tough' talks
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says he agrees with the incoming American border czar that there will be 'tough conversations' ahead.
Dave Coulier, 'Full House' star, has cancer
Dave Coulier, an actor and comedian who found fame as Uncle Joey on "Full House," has revealed he has been diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer.
Overwhelmed families surrendering custody of their children to CAS
Overwhelmed families in Ontario are having to surrender their children to the Children's Aid Society, and according to the society, the residential crisis is part of the problem.
BREAKING Republicans will retain House majority, CNN projects, completing GOP’s dominance of Washington
Republicans have secured their monopoly on power in Donald Trump’s new Washington, retaining their majority in the House of Representatives, CNN projected Wednesday, after picking up seats in California and Arizona and ushering in a dramatic new era of right-wing populist rule.
Guns and drugs seized from organized crime group linked to Mexican cartel, RCMP say
Members of the RCMP’s federal police say they have arrested three men in B.C. for their alleged role in a “transnational organized crime group” connected to Mexican drug cartels plotting to import cocaine into Canada.
Testing confirms B.C. teen infected with Canada's first human case of avian flu
Federal health officials have confirmed that a B.C. teen who is currently in hospital has Canada's first human case of H5N1 avian flu.
This Canadian airline will adopt Apple's new AirTag feature to help recover lost baggage. Here's how
Apple announced that a new feature, 'Share Item Location,' will help users locate and recover misplaced items by sharing an AirTag location with third parties including airlines.
'You couldn't open the door': Concerns over awareness of and access to Tesla emergency latch after 4 killed in Toronto, 5 killed in Wisconsin
When a Tesla crashed on Lakeshore Boulevard in Toronto last month, the first people on scene knew there were occupants inside but couldn't immediately get them out.