Soda Jerk
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Soda jerk (or soda jerker) is an American term used to refer to a person—typically a young man—who would operate the
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 machine combines flavored syrup or syrup concentrat ...
in a restaurant, preparing and serving soda drinks and
ice cream soda An ice cream float or ice cream soda, also known as an ice cream spider in Australia and New Zealand, is a chilled beverage made by adding ice cream to a soft drink or to a mixture of flavored syrup and carbonated water. When root beer and va ...
s. The drinks were made by mixing flavored syrup,
carbonated water Carbonated water is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, either artificially injected under pressure, or occurring due to natural geological processes. Carbonation causes small bubbles to form, giving the water an effervescent quali ...
, and occasionally malt powder over either ice or a few scoops of
ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...
. The drink would then be served in a tall glass with a long-handled spoon, most commonly known as a " soda spoon", and
drinking straw A drinking straw is a List of eating utensils, utensil that uses suction to carry the contents of a beverage to one's mouth. A straw is used by placing one end in the mouth and the other in a beverage. By applying suction with the mouth, the air ...
s. Soda jerks were relatively common in the United States from the 1920s until the late 1950s; due to economic and social trends, the occupation essentially no longer exists.


Origin of term

The term ''soda jerk'' was a pun on ''soda clerk'', the formal job title of the drugstore assistants who operated soda fountains. It was inspired by the "jerking" action the server would implement to drive the fountain handle back and forth when adding soda. The soda fountain spigot itself was typically a sturdy, shiny fixture attached at the end of a pipe which protruded over the counter and curved down at the end for filling glasses. Since most drinks required carbonated water, the tap handle was built large to accommodate frequent use of the fountain.


History

The practice of operating a soda fountain in a
drugstore A pharmacy (also called drugstore in American English or community pharmacy or chemist in Commonwealth English) is a premises which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of m ...
reached its peak popularity in the 1940s but was popular from the 1920s through the 1950s. The position was coveted, and was commonly only awarded after protracted menial labor in the store. Soda jerking was dominated by popular young men with loud personalities and good people skills because of the fashionable environment and "cool" association. Boys who worked at the shops were expected to socialize with and entertain the guests in addition to serving their drinks. Michael Karl Witzel describes an
archetypal The concept of an archetype ( ) appears in areas relating to behavior, History of psychology#Emergence of German experimental psychology, historical psychology, philosophy and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a stat ...
soda jerk as " consummate showman, innovator and freelance linguist... the pop culture star of the
Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...
". The proliferation of ice cream parlors declined as
drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or Drive-in theater, movie theater) where one can driving, drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by ...
s and walk-up
fast food Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...
stands grew in popularity, and grill and fry cooks replaced soda jerks.


Jargon

Soda jerks were known for having their own jargon for how their drinks were made. They created nicknames for different drinks. For example, they called a glass of
milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...
"baby" and a strawberry
milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may ...
"in the hay". A
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
with ice was called "scratch one". They also had jargon to express how they wanted their drink to be served.
Coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
, or "draw one" would be served strong if called "draw one from the south". If a drink was ordered with extra ice it was "heavy on the hail". Some of these terms are still used today. Egg creams, the shorthand for a chocolate soda with some milk, are served in many places and are especially known in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
where they originated. Another term from soda jerk jargon that remains in use is "concrete", a name for an extremely thick milkshake or custard.


See also

* Dirty soda * Barista *
Bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep or barman or barmaid or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the Bar (establishment), bar, usually in a licensed bar (establishment), establishment as ...
*
Lunch counter A lunch counter or luncheonette is a small restaurant, similar to a diner, where the patron sits on a stool on one side of the counter and the server serves food from the opposite side of the counter, where the kitchen or food preparation area ...
*
Milk bar A milk bar is an establishment that primarily sells dairy-based foods and beverages, often at affordable prices, and typically provides seating for customers. Their specific form and offerings can vary significantly by country. History The ...
*
Milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may ...
*
Coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...
*
List of obsolete occupations This is a list of obsolete occupations. To be included in this list an occupation must be completely, or to a great extent, obsolete. For example, there are still a few lamplighters retained for ceremonial or tourist purposes, but in the main the ...


References


External links

* Albright, Andrea.
Longtime soda jerk closes up shop
, ''
The Topeka Capital-Journal ''The Topeka Capital-Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Topeka, Kansas, owned by Gannett. History The paper was formed following numerous name changes and mergers, including the merger of ''The Topeka Daily Capital'' and ''The Topeka State Jou ...
'', July 9, 2000. {{DEFAULTSORT:Soda Jerk Cultural history of the United States Food services occupations Obsolete occupations