Woman's Coca-Cola memorabilia collection runs to more than 1,500 items

When visitors reach Leah Kortmeyer's door, they knock beside a Coca-Cola door ornament. Kortmeyer greets them in a Coca-Cola T-shirt, shorts and Coca-Cola sandals.

She has kept the walls of her house beige. Her carpet is the same plain color and it works -- because every accent she has is bright red, emblazoned with the Coca-Cola emblem.

From her dishes and kitchenware to her computer desktop, Kortmeyer's love of the American icon shines. Her bathroom shower curtain, her throw blanket and ice cream scoop all bear the Coca-Cola symbol.

"I like the nostalgia," she said. "It's Americana."

Kortmeyer started collecting Coke items some 25 years ago. She estimates she has more than 1,500 items.

Collector Leah Kortmeyer stands in her Cape Girardeau kitchen with a few of her many Coca-Cola memorabilia items. (Kit Doyle)

"Coca-Cola was always my favorite soft drink growing up," she said. "There's not a day that goes by where I don't drink a Coke or a Coke Zero."

Kortmeyer likes the history of the company and its product as much as the taste. She's read several books and done much research. She's a member of the Coca-Cola Collectors Club and recently created a program about the drink and its legacy.

Kortmeyer said she prefers the vintage or older Coca-Cola symbols to the newer ones because they remind her more of the Americana feel of the drink. A shelf in her spare room holds several plates with pictures of the Coca-Cola Santa Claus on them.

"Coca-Cola is not responsible for Santa," Kortmeyer said. "But they are responsible for the Santa we now know."

A Michigan artist named Haddon Sundblom created the jolly fat man in red as a marketing campaign for Coca-Cola in 1931. Before then, Santa was depicted skinnier and wearing different colors.

Leah Kortmeyer maintains a Christmas tree year-round to display some of her many Coca-Cola ornaments. Kortmeyer believes that she has more than 1,500 Coca-Cola memorabilia items. (Kit Doyle)

She does have several of the Coca-Cola Bear products like a puzzle framed and hung on the wall of the spare room, which also has a Christmas tree up and lit year-round with hundreds of ornaments -- all Coke themed, of course.

She bids on eBay and visits antique stores, but most of her collectibles have come from friends or family.

"So much of what I have people have given to me," she said.

Her favorite ornament was given to her by the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church and his family.

"It's one that I had wanted for years," she said of the three-inch-high model Coke can. "Out of the blue I had received that" from the family.

The vintage Coca-Cola vending machine in her dining room was given to her by a former boyfriend while they were dating. It's one of her favorite stories of acquisition.

One day, she said, he showed up at her house, knocked on her door and had the machine in the back of his truck.

She said the vending machine is also probably the most unusual thing to have in a house.

"But to me everything is interesting," she said.

As director of Christian education at Trinity Lutheran School, Kortmeyer has only been asked to make her presentation to church-affiliated groups. She has presented to Trinity Lutheran School, the Lutheran Home, Trinity Senior Ladies and Junior Ladies groups and most recently, the Trinity Men's Group.

She said when they ask, she will come, but that she doesn't have the time to make it a constant endeavor.

She said she tries to tailor her presentations to suit her audience. For the men's group, she had a raft, Coca-Cola pocket knives and fishing bobbers shaped like miniature Coke cans.

She also talks about history, like the Santa, and gives answers to lingering questions about Coca-Cola, like whether it really did have cocaine in it.

"It certainly is debatable," Kortmeyer said.

Coca-Cola was originally meant to be a medicine, so it's possible, she said. But no one can officially confirm or deny the claim.

"There's one thing you read that says it did and there's on thing you read that says it doesn't," Kortmeyer said.

Aside from the history and the fun appearance of the items, Kortmeyer said it's the feeling she gets when she drinks one that makes her enjoy the product.

"It's just a symbol of friendship and happiness," she said. "Coca-Cola is tied in to life."

MORE ONLINE

Go to semissourian.com to see more photos of Leah Kortmeyer's collection of Coca-Cola items.