Editing Moxie (section)

==History==
[[File:20211230 specials moxie ad.oggvorbis.ogg|thumb|left|1921 song promoting the soda, sung by [[Arthur Fields]]]]
[[File:1914 - Allentown Independence Day Outing.jpg|thumb|right|A group of friends from [[Allentown, Pennsylvania]], celebrating [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] in 1913 with a case of Moxie]]

Moxie originated around 1876 as a patent medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food",<ref name="pendergrast" /> by [[Augustin Thompson]] in Lowell, Massachusetts.<ref name="lowell"/> Thompson claimed that it contained an extract from a rare, unnamed South American plant, which is now known to be [[gentiana|gentian root]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drinkmoxie.com/history.php |title=Moxie. Distinctively Different |publisher=Drinkmoxie.com |access-date=February 12, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Moxie4">{{cite web|url=http://www.bdragon.com/moxie/moxie.shtml |title=Moxie For Mine: More About Moxie the Drink |publisher=Bdragon.com |access-date=February 12, 2018}}</ref> Moxie, he claimed, was especially effective against "[[paralysis]], [[softening of the brain]], [[Anxiety (mood)|nervousness]], and [[insomnia]]".<ref name="pendergrast" />

Thompson claimed that he named the beverage after a [[Lieutenant]] Moxie,<ref name="pendergrast">[[Mark Pendergrast]]: For God, Country and Coca-Cola, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1993, {{ISBN|978-0-465-05468-8}}</ref> a purported friend of his,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Perry |first=John F. |title=Echoes |editor=Edward Parsons Jr. |editor-link=Edward Parsons Tobie, Jr. |journal=The Maine Bugle |date=January 1, 1897 |issue=Campaign IV, Call 1 |url=https://archive.org/details/mainebuglecampai00unit/page/n94/mode/1up |page=85}}<br />Thompson served in and eventually commanded Company G, of [[28th Maine Infantry Regiment|28th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment]] during the Civil War.</ref> who he claimed had discovered the plant and used it as a [[panacea (medicine)|panacea]], and the company he created continued to promulgate legendary stories about the word's origin. It likely derives from an [[Abenaki language|Abenaki]] word that means "dark water" and that is found in lake and river names in Maine, where Thompson was born and raised.<ref>"moxie (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. 2014. Douglas Harper. September 3, 2014, http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=moxie.</ref>

After a few years, Thompson added [[soda water]] to the formula and changed the product's name to "Beverage Moxie Nerve Food". By 1884 he was selling Moxie both in bottles and in bulk as a [[soda fountain]] syrup. In 1885, he received a trademark for the term. He marketed it as "a delicious blend of bitter and sweet, a drink to satisfy everyone's taste."<ref>{{Citation|title=Sundae best: a history of soda fountains|author=Anne Cooper Funderburg|publisher=Popular Press|year=2001|isbn=978-0-87972-854-0|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Wr_yPYvkNWwC&pg=PA67 67–68]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wr_yPYvkNWwC}}</ref><!-- NOTE - Also see the timeline of Hires root Beer on pages 93-94. An argument could be made for either one being older, depending on where one chooses to start counting. --> Thompson died in 1903.<ref>[http://www.matthewsmuseum.org/augustin.htm Doctor Augustin Thompson]. Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage. Published 2008. Retrieved May 8, 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208061050/http://www.matthewsmuseum.org/augustin.htm |date=February 8, 2012 }}</ref>

In 1907, the Moxie Nerve Food Company of New England filed a lawsuit in Boston against the Modox Company and others, alleging that they had copied the ingredients of Moxie and were using the name "Modox",<ref name="Modox">{{cite web |url=http://www.drinkmodox.com/ |title= Commercial Site: Modox }}</ref> which closely resembles "Moxie", and were infringing upon patents and trademarks.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZbkKAAAAYAAJ "Moxie Nerve Food Company of New England v. Modox Co. et al. : Circuit Court, District of Rhode Island, February 20, 1907"], ''The Federal Reporter'', v.151-152, 1907, pp.493-509.</ref> The suit was dismissed by the judge, who said the court could not protect the legitimate part of the plaintiff's business in this case. In a later case in [[New York (state)|New York]], the Moxie Nerve Food Company won a lawsuit against Modox, which subsequently went out of business.<ref name="Modox"/>

President [[Calvin Coolidge]] was known to favor the drink, and [[Boston Red Sox]] slugger [[Ted Williams]] endorsed it on radio and in print. The company also marketed a beverage called "Ted's Root Beer" in the early sixties. Author [[E. B. White]] once claimed that "Moxie contains [[Gentiana lutea|gentian root]], which is the path to the good life."<ref name="Moxie1">{{Citation | date=November 2001 | title=Make Mine Moxie | periodical=Perspective | publication-place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | place=Harvard-Radcliffe | url=http://www.digitas.harvard.edu/~perspy/old/issues/2001/nov/backpage.html | access-date=October 9, 2007 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20041115055845/http://www.digitas.harvard.edu/~perspy/old/issues/2001/nov/backpage.html | archive-date=November 15, 2004 }}</ref>

The brand suffered a significant decline in sales during the 1930s.

The [[Catawissa Bottling Company]] in [[Catawissa, Pennsylvania]] is one of six bottlers in the United States that produce Moxie. Catawissa has produced it since 1945.<ref name="MoxieGlobe1">{{Citation
| last=Abelson | first=Jenn | date=August 5, 2007 | title=Can a bitter taste find sweet life again? Unique N.E. soda Moxie thirsting for a revival
| url=http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/08/05/can_a_bitter_taste_find_sweet_life_again/
| periodical=The Boston Globe | access-date=August 15, 2007}}</ref> [[Polar Beverages]] also bottles Moxie in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]],<ref>{{Citation |title=Polar Bev Partner Products | url=http://www.polarbev.com/PRODUCTS/PolarPartnerProducts/tabid/62/Default.aspx | access-date = August 18, 2011}}</ref> as does Orca Beverage in [[Mukilteo, Washington]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Moxie – 12 Pack – Orca Beverage Inc. | date=July 1, 2024 | url=https://www.orcabeverage.com/product/moxie/ | access-date = July 1, 2024}}</ref>

===Since 1962===
[[File:2018 Moxie can.jpg|left|thumb|150px|A can of Moxie from 2018]]
[[File:Moxie Horsemobile.jpg|thumb|right| Moxie Horsemobile. This one was built on a [[LaSalle (automobile)|LaSalle]] sedan. It is on display at [[Clark's Trading Post]] in [[Lincoln, New Hampshire]].]]

Sugar-free Diet Moxie was introduced in 1962, three years after ''[[Mad Magazine|Mad]]'' magazine began placing the Moxie logo in the background of its articles, which increased public awareness of it.<ref>https://www.zipcomic.com/mad-issue-45</ref>  The magazine also introduced a short-lived girlfriend for its mascot [[Alfred E. Neuman]] who was named "Moxie." As a result of ''Mad''{{'}}s efforts, sales of the soft drink increased 10%<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.drinkmoxie.com/history.php|title=History of Moxie: 1960 - 1969|date=n.d.|website=Moxie Beverage Company.}}</ref> which led to the "Mad About Moxie" campaign.<ref>{{cite book|title=Dun's Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KL8SAQAAMAAJ|date=January 1968|publisher=Dun and Bradstreet|page=56}}</ref>

The Moxie brand  was purchased in 1966 by the [[Monarch Beverage Company]] of [[Atlanta]]. In 2007 Monarch sold it to its previous owner, Cornucopia Beverages of [[Bedford, New Hampshire]], which is owned by the [[Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England]], a subsidiary of the [[Kirin Brewery Company]], which is a subsidiary of Kirin Company, Limited, which is a subsidiary of [[Kirin Holdings Company, Limited]], based in [[Tokyo]], Japan (a member of the [[Mitsubishi]] ''[[keiretsu]]'').<ref>{{cite news| first = Denis| last = Paiste |title = Moxie, same taste, new owner| url = http://newenglandpride.blogspot.com/2007/04/cornucopia-beverages-acquires-moxie.html| format = reprint| work = New Hampshire Union Leader| publisher = Union Leader Corporation| date = April 6, 2007| page = B3| access-date = November 25, 2007}}</ref>

In its decision to step up efforts to distribute the product, Cornucopia cited increasing requests for Moxie from fans across the country. In 2007 it launched pilot sales in [[Florida]] and in 2010 granted distribution in Florida to Florida Micro Beverage Distributors.<ref name="AP01">[http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2010/12/08/florida_is_getting_some_moxie/ "Florida is getting some Moxie"], [[Associated Press|AP]] via ''boston.com'', December 8, 2010. Retrieved December 8, 2010.</ref>

In 2011, Cornucopia began [[doing business as]] the Moxie Beverage Company to market Moxie and Moxie-branded products. A website, DrinkMoxie.com, was created to promote Moxie. Drink recipes using Moxie were created.

Demand for Moxie has waned in recent years, although the brand persists in [[New England]] and [[Pennsylvania]].

On August 28, 2018, the [[Coca-Cola Company]] announced its purchase of Moxie from Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England Inc. for an unspecified amount.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-28/coke-inks-deal-to-buy-moxie-the-official-soft-drink-of-maine|title=Coke Inks Deal to Buy Moxie, the Official Soft Drink of Maine|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=August 28, 2018}}</ref>{{clear left}}