This is a picnic cooler made by the Progress Refrigerator Company in the 1950s. It is embossed with the Canada Dry logo and this model is referred to as the Progress A1. Canada Dry is just one of the many companies Progress produced coolers for. Some of the other soda companies they made coolers for were Royal Crown, 7 Up, Dr. Pepper, Squirt and Barq’s. The cooler is made of steel with two handles that locked together for carrying the cooler. There is a bottle opener mounted on the side and a drainage spout on the front. This model was built to hold 24 bottles of soda. Collectors will be aware that A1s with the Canada Dry embossing are not that easy to find. Some years ago we restored this cooler back to its original glory, but please note we are no longer in the restoration business.
Dimensions: 18”L x 13”W x 19”H
This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Edwin Meyer // Mar 24, 2010 at 10:04 pm
I recently came across an A1 cooler. It is in a little worse shape then yours was. My question is. Where did you find the restoration parts for the cooler? I have been searching the web and have not found any place to get items like the bottle opener or drain cap. You did a very nice job on your restoration, I can only hope mine comes out looking so good. Thanks Edwin
2 vintagevending // Mar 26, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Edwin,
The drain cap can be found here: http://www.fun-tronicsllc.com/store.php?searchterms=progress&searchmode=any
Good luck with your restoration!
3 Maureen Mccabe // Apr 21, 2010 at 12:08 pm
I have this canada dry cooler about same condition. My question is its value?
4 vintagevending // Apr 21, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Maureen,
As we have been out of the restoration business for awhile, we aren’t able to provide an estimate of value. A good thing to do is try to find a similar one on ebay or Craig’s List. Sometimes they pop up there. Good luck,
5 matt // Jun 25, 2010 at 6:47 am
Hi
i have just purchased a Progress Refrigerator Company cooler, looks exactly the same as your in the pic
now when i opened it up, it had a little white dust in the bottom
now i was worried this might have been the insulation between the inner and outer layers ? ? ? my concern is that it would contain asbestos ( and we know about that , thus i wouldnt want my family lunch in it )
so when you refurbed it, did you find out what was between the inner and outer metal skins ? ? ?
thanks
matt
6 vintagevending // Jun 25, 2010 at 10:06 am
The best we know, the insulation is fiberglass.
7 brian // Aug 13, 2010 at 8:28 pm
I have a progress cooler in very good shape except for the finish. I believe it is a coca-cola cooler because of the color, BUT there is no embossed logo. Were all coolers embossed with logos for that time period?
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