Jones told Sauls that in this step of the process that at long last he became firmly convinced that his new version was the right one and that he had made up his mind that there would be no further adjustments. Jones stated that he also had in mind several names he was considering for the new drink.  What happened next is that Jones took the results of his trial and error process down to Herman and Charles Minges in an effort to get them to market the drink.

The office manager at the Minges plant brought in Jones' new formula along with cups filled with a competing drink.  The two beverages were served side by side in coded cups so that only she knew which drink was which. When the majority of the people at the Minges plant chose Jones' new formula, the Minges agreed to try it on the public on the condition that the drink go on the market under the trademark already owned by the Tip Corp. and that the drink be bottled in the old Mountain Dew bottle. The Minges still had a number of old Mountain Dew bottles that were taking up storage space. "We'll call it the new Mountain Dew," the Minges suggested.

According to Wythe Hull, the MInges brothers indicated that they would not consider introducing the new drink if it required the purchase of special bottles.  Jones, who had already been turned down by other prospects, was desperate and reluctantly agreed, Hull wrote.

Jones told Sauls and later Pepsi-Cola Co. Inc. that the third formula to be placed on the market in the Mountain Dew bottle was initially placed before the public by Herman and Charles Minges in Columbus County, N.C.

The Minges did initiate a concentrated marketing program in Columbus County, but they declined to spend any money on advertising the new Mountain Dew.  Instead, they put their sales supervisors on the trucks to handle the new product. Retailers and their customers were given the opportunity to try the new drink. The goal of the Minges was to place a sampling of the new Mountain Dew in the hands of everyone they could get to try it and to let the drink sell itself. The only advertising that was done was placing small signs on drink coolers that read, "New Mountain Dew."

The new Mountain Dew was introduced in April of 1961 and in May of this same year, Allie Hartman was planning to build a new plant in Knoxville (his brother, Barney, passed away in 1955). To raise funds toward this planned expansion of Hartman Beverages, Allie sold his stock in the Tip Corp. back to the company. The Tip board of directors subsequently approved the issue of 80 shares of stock to Charles Minges. As sales of the new Mountain Dew climbed in Columbus County the Minges introduced the drink in other parts of North Carolina.  In the meantime, Tip Corp. in Marion was a bee-hive of activity.  Because there were no direct shipping routes between the two towns, delays were common.  Mary Linda remembers her daddy getting frantic phone calls from the Minges saying that supplies were running low.

"In the middle of the night," she said, "Daddy would drive down to the plant, mix up and bottle 40 gallons of the syrup, load it into his car and drive through the night to deliver it to the Minges in North Carolina."

Herman Minges told Sauls that word of the success travelled rapidly and that other bottlers were soon asking to try Mountain Dew. In less than three years after its introduction, Tip was producing the concentrate for 40 bottlers who were selling more than 10 million cases annually.  Slagle said that this effort was straining the Tip facility to the max and that Jones and the Tip stockholders were faced with the need to construct a new, larger facility.

By March 1964, a number of national corporations associated with the bottling business (those involved in the manufacture of glass, crowns, cartons, etc.) were contacting Bill Jones wanting to purchase the formula to this new Mountain Dew.  One such company wrote that they were willing to put up a substantial amount of money for the purchase of 51 percent of the Tip common stock. This company was more interested, however, in owning 100 percent.

In the meantime, representatives of the Pepsi-Cola Co. had watched with amazement the rapid growth in sales of Mountain Dew. Jones began to hear that Pepsi was asking questions.

On Aug 27, 1964, the board of directors of Pepsi-Cola Co. Inc., approved a plan negotiated with Bill Jones.  On Sept 3, 1964, the Wall Street Journal carried the announcement that Pepsi had acquired the rights to Mountain Dew. The sale made the news around the world.

Stockholders in the Tip Corp. of America at the time of the contract with Pepsi were as follows:  W.H. Hull, Jr. 140 shares W.H. Jones 240, Herman S. Minges 140, Harold D. Minges 40, John Minges 40, L. Dean Minges 40, Edwin L. Minges 40, Richard B. Minges 140, and Charles R. Minges 120. According to in-hand documents, a total of 60,000 shares of Pepsi Common Stock were traded for 940 shares in the Tip Corp. Bill Jones had, indeed, finally come up with a winning drink.

Wythe Hull, in his account of the Marion Bottling Co., stated that the Mountain Dew formula Pepsi gained the rights to in the deal with Bill Jones, "is native to Marion, Virginia." Mountain Dew swiftly became the second best selling drink for the Pepsi-Cola Co., he wrote.  "It has given them a tool to successfully compete in the so-called 'flavor' market."

Ironically, Allie Hartman realized little, if any, profit from his investment in the Tip Corp. of America. If he had waited only a couple of months to sell his stock, he might have made a different decision.

There is another piece of whimsical irony to the Mountain Dew story. The deal with the Pepsi Cola Co. specified that the Pepsi stock could not be placed for sale for an unspecified period of time with the time for selling to be determined by Pepsi. Bill Jones drew an annual salary paid by Pepsi to continue as president of the Tip Corp.  In addition to the annual income realized by ownership of Pepsi common stock, for the next three years, at least, he had an annual income of approximately $55,000, a goodly sum in those days for the Marion area.

In a way one might say that Mountain Dew steped up to the batter's plate after having made two outs.  Bill Jones was the coach; Herman Minges and his brother, Charles, were on first and second base and the Pepsi Cola Co. was in the outfield.  Mountain Dew struck a home run that has lasted for more than 30 years.

On July 18, Amy Shepherd, vice-president Pepsi-Cola Co., Inc., confirmed that today, Mountain Dew is selling "better than ever," and that it continues to be one of the top 10 best selling soft drinks on a world-wide market.