As the U.S. Supreme Court decides the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care of Act (aka Obamacare) and the religious freedom of for-profit corporations like Hobby Lobby, let’s talk about a museum that celebrates America’s two favorite things…carbonated soft drinks and the Bible. At the Biedenharn Museum & Gardens in Louisiana, there’s more than just a historic house and formal gardens. Yes, the righteous and holy can also check out a collection of bibles and biblical literature with a rotating exhibit (the current one is a Stations of Cross exhibit, just in time for Easter) in a special fortress-like building, then go to an original soda fountain full of Coca-Cola memorabilia, including the company’s first ever delivery truck. If you’re wondering how these two collections came together, well, back in 1894 a man named Joseph A. Biedenharn, a Mississippi businessman, changed the world forever. In order for his customers outside downtown Vicksburg to have access to Coca-Cola, he had his brother Herman put it into Biedenharn bottles, making his company the first to ever bottle Coca-Cola. Today, thanks to Biedenharn’s decision, not only is Coca-Cola sold in more than 200 countries, but the world is also a lot sweeter (and some say heavier). It was Biedenharn’s only daughter Emmy-Lou who is to be canonized (or blamed) for all the Bibles. There is an 1848 facsimile of a Wycliffe Bible, an original 1611 King James Bible and a single sheet from the 1454-55 Gutenberg Bible. And the best part? Visitors can enjoy an ice cold glass bottle of Coke from an original vending machine for just a nickel. So make sure to bring your piggy bank. And of course God.
Biedenharn Museum & Gardens in Louisiana
