son, Louis, was the editor of the Evening Bee of Danville in 1903 when he received a telegram that his father died at his home in Rural Retreat. Pepper died after a lingering illness on May 29 and his wife (Louis' mother) died two months earlier on March 9. Dr. Pepper drink origin Pepper hired Wade Morrison in 1874, and Morrison worked for Pepper for a few years, leaving in 1880 to travel west. In Texas, Morrison obtained employment as a pharmacist in Austin and then later in Round Rock. Morrison moved around Texas, ending in Waco. In 1882 he bought John W. Castles's drug store in downtown Waco. In 1885, Morrison employed pharmacist Charles Alderton. Alderton, of New York State, went to school in England, gaining knowledge of carbonated beverages. Morrison and Alderton mixed carbonated water, fruit juices, and sugar to produce a soft drink that had an unusual taste. It was eventually called "a Waco" the customers at the drug store would order this drink saying, shoot a Waco. There are nearly a thousand people in Rural Retreat that claim the formula for the drink was stolen by Morrison. Pepper, known for formulating carbonated fountain drinks out of herbs, wrote a note in one of his store's ledgers that he contrived 'swamp root' – a drink of quinine, spices, raisins and soda. Morrison's popular Waco drink begat the need for an official name. During the later part of the nineteenth century it was common practice to name a product with the prefix Dr. to make it sound healthful; E.g., Dr. Davis's Liver Pills, Dr. Chandler's Hemlock Plaster, and Dr. Able's Compound Honey of Tar and Lemon. Carbonated drinks were considered healthful, so the Waco drink was given a name that sounded medicinal. Morrison labeled the drink Dr. Pepper, taking the name from his previous employer in Virginia. The assertion that Morrison was employed by Pepper, and named the drink after him, is disputed. Milly Walker, collections manager / curator for the Dublin (Texas) Dr Pepper Bottling Company Museum, said that there is no proof that Morrison ever worked as an assistant for Dr. Charles T. Pepper in the town of Rural Retreat. The Dr Pepper Museum in Waco has received over a dozen versions of the story attributing the name of the drink to the medical doctor of Virginia. One is that Dr. Pepper concocted a black cherry