I am some what of a historian myself and bottle hunting isnt the only thrill I get. It's the hunt for old plat maps that have been sitting on shelves in libraries and court houses just gathering dust. Sifting thru map after map to find one town that no one even remembers existing.
I lived most of my life in Cleveland, Ohio. When I finally made the move south I became acquainted with a couple of bottle hunters. I was suprised to find out that instead of spending their weekends in the bars, like my friends in Cleveland had, these guys were out digging up old OUTHOUSES! You can imagine the look of shock and disbelief on my face when the subject was brought up. I had never heard of such a thing. I guess I thought like most people do when I tell them I dig up old privies. OUTHOUSES??? EWWWWWWWWWWWWW. It's hard to make them understand that its JUST DIRT!
However, the historian in me was intrigued. Then the glorious day came about 7 years ago when they invited me to go along. How could I say no?
Hours and miles deep into the woods we finally found that glorious privy. I was so thrilled with my find for the day. Looking back now I know it wasn't that great of a find though. All I got that day, besides the lesson of bottle digging, was a plain common medicine bottle. It's probably a good thing it wasn't a spectacular bottle, or a crock or else I may have had a heart attack.
One of my new friends had taken me to his home and showed me all the treasure he had found over the years. Then he gave me a couple of books on antique bottles. I didn't just READ those books, I STUDIED them. A bottle can tell you so much about itself. What part of the country its from, what era it is from, what kind of contents it held. The list just goes on and on.
I haven't been on any real prosperous digs in a while and I'm just itching to get back out there and dig. It just makes me feel like a kid again.
If bottle hunting is a sickness it's the best kind of sickness I have ever had and I hope I never get over it. I think it's a sickness that everyone should have..at least one time in their life. :)
