That First Sip

Some of my memories live in my taste buds. For example, I remember the fizzy, sweet magic of a soda fountain—a memory I haven’t thought about in decades, not since I was a little girl visiting my grandparents (Henry and Maggie Mae Lanier) in Metter.

Back then, trips to town from their Union Community farm meant small-town adventure. We’d pop into Thain’s Dime Store and browse around. And one time—just once— we visited a drug store in downtown that had a real, honest-to-goodness soda fountain inside. This would have been the late 1960s or early 1970s. I remember climbing up onto a stool at the counter, wide-eyed and thrilled, watching someone behind the counter work their magic. Even today, I remember that first sip! It was a treat unlike anything else I’d ever tasted. I think about that moment sometimes when I travel from Metter to Statesboro, and I drive past the storefronts that line the highway.

So when I was asked two weeks ago to write about a brand-new soda fountain shop in Northwest Georgia, I didn’t hesitate for a single second. The place is called The Jerks—and before you raise an eyebrow thinking that’s a rude name for a business establishment, let me explain. “Jerks” refers to the soda jerks working behind the counter, named for the jerking motion used to pull the levers that dispense carbonated water. It’s a term that goes back over a century, and The Jerks of Cartersville wears it like a badge of honor. The moment I stepped through the door, I was transported. Tiny hexagonal tiles on the floor. Polished chrome gleaming under the lights. Customers perched on black stools along a long counter. And there, front and center, sat “Gertie” — a fully restored 1955 Bastian-Blessing soda fountain that serves as the shining heart of the whole operation.

The banter alone was worth the trip. Soda jerks have their own colorful language, and hearing phrases tossed back and forth across the counter made me feel like I’d wandered into yesteryear. “Make it moo,” means add some cream or milk to the concoction. “Burn one,” means add some chocolate syrup. Yum! The menu had all sorts of throwback treats like sodas, malts, sundaes, shakes, floats, splits … Oh my!

My personal soda jerk for the afternoon was Sam (short for Samantha), who also happens to be the shop’s proprietrix, the traditional title for a female general manager of a soda fountain. Sam answered every one of my questions with enthusiasm, and you could tell in an instant that she genuinely loves what she does and loves the people who come there to visit the past.

Sam whipped up a cream soda continued from page

for me (with toasted marshmallow and almond syrup), and when she set that glass on the counter, and I took that first long sip through the straw—well, I’m not too proud to say I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. It was light, perfectly sweet, impossibly refreshing, and it tasted like a memory made new again. Suddenly, I was five or six years old, sitting on that stool in Metter surrounded by Lanier loved ones.

Since opening last January, The Jerks have served up over 26,000 milkshakes, 10,000 floats, 10,145 handcrafted sodas, and more deviled eggs than I can shake a stick at (yes, they also offer delicious deviled eggs and other lunch items). Cartersville is so lucky to have an old-timey soda fountain shop again, and y’all, I wish that every town had one.

Again, I haven’t been to a soda fountain since I was a little girl, but the experience was just as I remembered it. I cannot wait to go back. Maybe this weekend!