Charles Elmer Hires (August 19, 1851 – July 31, 1937) was an American pharmacist and an early promoter of commercially prepared

root beer Root beer is a sweet North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree '' Sassafras albidum'' or the vine of '' Smilax ornata'' (known as sarsaparilla, also used to make a soft drink, sarsaparilla) as the ...

. He founded the Charles E. Hires Co., which manufactured and distributed Hires Root Beer.

Biography

Early life

Hires was born on August 19, 1851, to John and Mary Hires in

Salem County Salem County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western boundary is formed by the Delaware River and its eastern terminus is the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects the county with New Castle, Delaware. Its cou ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. At age 12, his parents sent him to work as an apprentice at a

drugstore A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmaci ...

owned by his brothers-in-law. When he was 16 he moved to Philadelphia and worked in a pharmacy. He saved until he had nearly $400, when he started his own drugstore.

Career

Hires reportedly learned about root beer on his honeymoon in

, where the woman who ran the hotel served an

herbal tea Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain term ...

made from roots known as "root tea". His friend

Russell Conwell Russell Herman Conwell (February 15, 1843 – December 6, 1925) was an American Baptist minister, orator, philanthropist, author, lawyer, and writer. He is best remembered as the founder and first president of Temple University in Philadelphi ...

, who went on to found

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

, suggested that "root beer" would be more appealing to the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

. Originally, Hires packaged a dry mixture in boxes and sold it to

housewives A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying an ...

and proprietors of

soda fountain A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated soft drinks, called fountain drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores. The device combines flavored syrup or syrup concentra ...

s. They needed to mix in water, sugar, and

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

. The drink was slow to catch on, but Conwell persuaded Hires to present his product at the 1876 U.S.

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

in Philadelphia. To make it stand out, he called his drink "the temperance drink" and "the greatest health-giving beverage in the world." Soon after, business flourished and Hires opened a factory at 117-119 Arch Street in Philadelphia. Hires did not drink and marketed root beer as an alternative to alcohol. However, following an analysis that suggested there was alcohol in root beer, the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...

launched a boycott of his product. Hires ran his own analysis and advertised heavily that the amount of alcohol was about the same as in a half loaf of bread.

Personal life

Hires married Clara Kate Smith in 1875. After her death in 1910, he married Emma Waln. He died on July 31, 1937, at the age of 85. Rose Hill, the family's estate in Merion, Pennsylvania, is now the site of

Temple Adath Israel of the Main Line , image = 20191229ADATHISRAEL_MERION_Exterior.jpg , image_upright = 1.4 , caption = Temple Adath Israel, in 2019 , map_type = Pennsylvania , map_size = 250 , map_relief ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hires, Charles Elmer 1851 births 1937 deaths Businesspeople from Philadelphia American pharmacists 19th-century American inventors American drink industry businesspeople Keurig Dr Pepper people 19th-century Quakers American Quakers 19th-century American businesspeople People from Salem County, New Jersey Businesspeople from New Jersey