The Good The Bad And The Ugly
Today Tricky and I dug one of the leads that a friend of mine had set up. I had probed the house yesterday and found a nice looking depression on the back property line, but it was 1894 so I knew it wasn’t going to be good. But the number one rule of privy digging is “you never know”, so she was gonna get dug either way. We also found a nice pit on another property, but the homeowner needs a little help understanding that this is not going to be a major undertaking. We’re working on that.
So we started with a test hole and pulled out bits of the most common bitters bottle in these here parts: H E Bucklen’s Electric Bitters… but it was still good enough to open the pit up though.
There was a severe lack of shards as we headed down south and then out popped a Dr King’s new life pills! It was a small bottle and definitely had the cute factor, but it was 1900’s, and that doesn’t tickle my funny parts. Next to come out was a Wakefield’s blackberry balsam, man, we’re digging out the commons today… This bottle has to win the prize for the most patent medicines ever sold. It’s run was for a staggering 125 years (1844-1969). We also dug a bunch of slicks which were all Owens glassmakers marked, which certainly prompted several “boo’s” from above ground.
Well, if you read this blog you have to know by now there is always some oddity that comes up. Today it came out in 3 pieces, and once it was put together it was some syringe contraption… I initially thought it was for cleaning a woman’s [use your imagination] but thanks to Google I was relieved to find it was an antique laryngeal and posterior nasal douche!. So I glued it together and put it on my shelf. (I still would have done that even if it had been the former)
It wasn’t until we got to the bottom that I was scraping around and a local drugstore came out, and then I saw just a small lip and handle of a pottery jug too. Now I knew what I was looking at but I wasn’t in any shape to get the camera and film it, I was too excited. I worked the jug loose, pulled it out and wiped my hand over to see if the was any scratched lettering on it, once I had checked for damage I jumped out of the pit and yelled, “YES, YES!” (I may have even done a little dance too).It was a BEAUTIFUL mini scratch jug. WOO HOO!..
The Good The Bad… And The Ugly
…..and now for more of the GOOD
A little research at the local library confirmed that William Buckworth was a druggist and dry goods store owner from Le Roy, Illinois, his drugstore opened in 1895 but died only 2 years later.
Sweet cuppin’ cakes.