Arkansas Coca-Cola lady is the real thing

     About 25 miles east of Little Rock in a community called Furlow, a pair of Lonoke High School sweethearts put the "C" in Coca-Cola.  The proof?  6,000 Coca Cola items neatly kept in an immaculate home on North Johnson Road, or as Don and Wanda Cook like to call it, "Coca-Cola Avenue."  Yes they even have a yard sign signifying that.  Incidentally Wanda's maiden name is Johnson.  "Don and I went to the 9th grade prom," Cook laughed, " and the rest is history that includes two daughters and three grandsons."

     Don Cook, 68, and Wanda Cook, 65, have been married for 47 years. They attend Concord United Methodist Church, right down the road from their home

     Cook loves to wear her self made Coca-Cola car hop outfit.  It's based  off  a 1950's Barbie doll.  She is a walking, talking ambassador for the drink known as the real thing. Look up and you will see the ceiling fan blades all feature the C"oca-Cola theme.  In the kitchen, oh my!  Coke dishes, magnets, silverware and even the handles on the cabinets are customized with the Coke look.

     This crush on collectiing Coca-Cola memorabilia started 18 years ago when Cook would go to flea markets and buy old jewelry.  She said she had a thing for cheerful jewelry and would get a couple of pieces sometime when she was out and about.

     "My daughters Dana and Donna got me a Collector's Coca-Cola  price guide book and here the craze began," Cook said. 

     Cook looked around her living room and walked over to her most sentimental Coca-Cola collectible. "It's a driver's hat that was worn by Richard Eckl, who was an employee of Coca-Cola at 525 West Capitol in Little Rock.  He worked there from 1931-1964 and his wife Ellen Whitington gave it to us, years after he died," Cook said.  With the cap came a lapel pin of a Coke bottle cap.  "It's special because he wore it to work every day," she said. " He used to put it on his dresser at night before he went to bed.

     According to "Crazy Coke Lady" as many people call her, the Coca-Cola Santa Claus advertising campaign started in 1931 when the company commissioned Hayden Sundbloom to be the designer.  "There were sixty-four original santa ads," Cook said.  Of course, she has a great collection of these in the living room.

     Of interest to Razorback Fans would be the Frank Broyles Coke tray that Cook keeps near her front door.

     One might wonder if the Cooks like anything other than Coke.  "My oldest grandson Josh Anderson, played a joke on us once by placing a Pepsi in each room of the house.  I just told him that didn't hurt my feelings because I'm an equal opportunity collector."

     So what else can you find in the Cook's collection?  Coke crates that  serve as end-tables, they have three of them.  A Coke house from Mexico . A 1950's Coke music box that was bought for $5 and is now worth $200.  Coke telephones, radios and a glass of Coke phone.  Cook's husband says one of his favorites is the Coke can radio with batteries.  "It comes in handy in Arkansas with all the times we lose power from the weather," he said.

     Don Cook is a retired railroad worker.  That might be why Wanda Cook really likes the National Geographic Magazine Coke ad featuring a railroad man.

     As the Winter Olympics get ready to begin, it's interesting to note that Cook has all 44 pins that were issued for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.  "I got this collection for $30 dollars on Ebay, " she laughed.

     The Cooks have a Coke Christmas tree in a bedroom, along with a Coke bed, Coke border and cedar chest with blankets.  In the adjoining bathroom you will find a Coke shower curtain along with matching Coke towels

     A pouty, time-out Coke baby was given to Don Cook after he helped someone who needed water for their radiator twelve or thirteen years ago. The stuffed baby, is in the living room, with faced turned back like it just got in trouble and doesn't want to see anyone.  By the way, this baby has a bottle of Coke stashed in a pocket.

     Fifty-six Coke cookie jars are a part of the Cook's collection.  Again more items given to them by people who know how much they adore Coke collectibles.  Don Cook keeps his doggie treats in a coke container on the kitchen counter. "Our bassett hounds Obie , the boy, and Andi, the girl appreciate the treats on a daily basis, " Wanda Cook joked.

     A 2,000 piece glued Coke puzzle is on one wall, while another wall features an uncut collection of Coca-Cola trading cards. Wanda Cook said a bottle of Coke was 15 cents in the 1960's.

     Wanda Cook took a moment to do the Macarena, played on a Coca-Cola radio/cd/ tape player as she showed off the dancing Coke cans in her collection.

     Don Cook likes the special issue bottles they have inside a glass case.  Some examples of these include, the Blue Angels, Final Four, Bear Bryant, Georgia Tech, 25 years of Disney, Dollywood and Graceland.  On the opposite side of the room from these are the international Coke bottles from countries ranging from Australia to Wales.  "I like the one from Guam, " he said.  "It's like a break fluid container."

     The second week of December each year, the Cooks show off their Coca-Cola treasures to the second grade class of Lonoke Primary School.  "We've been doing this for fourteen years for the kids," Wanda Cook said.  Coca-Cola provides each child with a goodie bag and a Coke.  The Cooks serve their style of  chocolate iced cookies, called Cokies, shaped like small bottles of Coke.

     A Coke Christmas tree in the front yard is decoraded with the empty bottles from the kids.

     Wanda Cooks says she tells the second graders three things. "First celebrate every day and remember the real reason for the season is the birthday of Jesus." Incidentally, the Cooks leave their Christmas lights up and on year-round.  "Second, it's okay to be different.  God made us that way.  And third, I tell them the  Coke Barbie story.  I was making a dress for myself,  and washed the red with the white  and it faded so don't wash red and white together or your things will turn to pink.  All moms do that at one point . So watch out for pink underwear I remind the boys."

     Cook says she always makes a place for Coke items that find their way to her home,even though she doesn't aggressively seek them. Two examples of gifts from the public include a message in a  1960's Coca- Cola bottle and a white pumpkin that says ""Crazy Coke Lady "on one side and "It's The Real Thing" on the other side.  Cook preserved this pumpkin in paper mache.