12/10/2025
DID YOU KNOW?
MALVERN ARKANSAS HISTORY:
J.M. Clem and his son, Dock, founded Clem Bottling Works in March 1907. The Clem family produced and bottled soft drinks in a small building behind their home. In May 1914, the Clem Family built a bottling plant and warehouse at 937 S. Main St. in Malvern.
The first bottles the company used were embossed with “J.M. Clem Bottling Works” and were sealed with a wire and an inner gasket. In the early 1920s, the company converted to bottles sealed with metal caps. The bottles at this time were also covered with paper labels. Starting in the 1950s, the bottles were labeled with applied painted labels.
J.M. Clem died in September 1931. Dock Clem’s son, Harold, joined the business in 1933. After Dock Clem’s death in May 1942, his widow, Jewell, and son continued to operate the business until 1972, when the family sold the company to Dr Pepper, a purchase that included the rights to the soft drink formulas and the trademarks but not the bottling equipment. Harold Clem joined the Dr Pepper Company and worked there until he died in April 2004.
