A Pan-American Corporation bottle from Wenonah in the 1920s.

Larry Smith wrote:
According to Marjorie Lentz's "Wenonah," the Pan American Products Company had a factory in Wenonah. The company manufactured Matteen, a soft drink made of South American herbs.

Pan American Products' factory was located in a wooded area beyond the end of S. West Ave. The building was also at one time used as a soap factory, and later by Clark and Clark --- when it became known as the "pill factory."

The whole bottle.

The fastener.

The images are from the Wenonah Historical Society collection as are the bottles.

Bulletin Of The Pan American Union 1933-09: Vol 67 Iss 10 states:

Page -36-

Hot days call for cool beverages. Everywhere in the United States soda fountains, restaurants, and road refreshment stands are passing millions of drinks to millions of thirsty people. Ami among the new beverages is Matteen, a product derived from the leaf of the mate tree that grows wild in Brazil and Paraguay.
Page -38-

Ten millions of people in South America, it is estimated, are constant users of the beverafje, verba mate. But to many people in the United States the drink is either unknown or not liked. Now comes the food chemist, who, taking dry mate leaves as a basis, prepares a delicious summer beverage. He removes the hitter tang, which few .Vinericans enjoy, adds certain well-liked ingredients, and combines them with the life-giving properties of the natural mate leaf, and the result is Matteen. This beverage, originally placed on the market in New Jersey, has under other names e.xtended its sale to various States. In Te.xas the new drink has been found so pleasant that the original company operating there has expanded its activities by opening additional bottling establishments.