It's Show time!

By the time you get this newsletter, who knows what will have happened! If it shows up on Friday, grab that bag of Fritos and get down to the Hospitality Suite at at the Clarion Inn, located at 3640 East Cork Street, Kalamazoo, MI. Members report at 6:30, and for the show dealers and workers the Suite is open at 7:00.

The Kalamazoo Antique Bottle Show is from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday, April 11th at the Kalamazoo County Fairgrounds & Expo Center, 2900 Lake Street, Kalamazoo MI 49048.

Name Tags must be worn in a visible location in order to gain entry at 8:00 am.Please note: you must furnish your own table covers.

Table covers are no longer provided by the fairgrounds. You must have a table cover!

So, if this newsletter reached you right after all of the big Hullabaloo, then don't feel too bad, we still have an April club meeting planned!

This has been a busy month for me. The spring-thaw usually brings out eager new treasure hunters which makes me get out of my chair and start slinging hash. Also, with the Federal and State taxes due that really adds to the burden!

What I am trying to say is this; If you are a member of the club, only for the sake of getting a newsletter, you may be a little disappointed this month.

We had another great turnout at the last meeting! You have heard the saying "This much fun must be illegal!" Well, I guess we are outgrowing certain aspects of the old club. It really is great to see the club get larger, but as our President Chuck Parker pointed out, it is also getting louder!

That is normal for a larger group. At the Metal Detecting Club that I belong to, the on-going average attendance at our meetings is around 70 people! With a group that big, the item that gets the most use is President Mike Walker's gavel!

President Parker just asked me to mention that we need to hold down the talking when he, or one of the members has the floor. I can understand that. Chuck went home very frustrated from the last meeting because of all the constant background chatter, but he only pointed the accusing finger at one person . . . me!

Of course, ever since growing up at home, the oldest of eight children, I learned how to handle this sort of problem . . . I blamed you!

Of course I am making light of a serious situation. Because of the club's website, and the business that I am in, I do a great deal of recruiting for both clubs. When someone does visit our meetings, we can only hope they leave with a good impression. So, we do need to call ourselves to order. If you don't have the go-ahead from our President to speak, please wait your turn.

I told Chuck that this problem is all his fault! He is the Ring-Leader, the big Cohuna! So next time if you see him removing his shoe, you better be prepared for some serious odor. . . I mean order! That, or get ready to duck! I think the old General still wears a boot pistol!

We had a great group of diggers and collectors out for our last meeting! Here are the names from the sign-up sheet. Tim Hayes, Kathleen Hurd, Bob Sloman, Mary Hamilton, Chuck Parker, John Winkler, Jim Bennett, Ron Smith, Kevin Siegfried, Scott Hendrichsen, Vincent Grossi, Ed Nickerson, Al Holden.

The Meeting theme was Dairy Bottles and we had a huge number of them on display!

First let me mention two very nice whiskey flasks that Tim Hayes brought in. One was a clear half-pint flask with the image of a large human eye, crowned with an bushy eyebrow. Under the eye image is the framed-in word "OPENER." I'm thinking in the mean time, they have found that coffee works better? The neat old flask has a ground-lip and a perfect zinc screw-cap.

Another beautiful flask that Tim Hayes displayed was a deep honey amber "M. Shaughnessy Co." whiskey flask in a one- pint size. It also has a ground lip with a screw-on zinc cap.

I did a little checking and found that M. Shaughnessy was located in Saint Louis, MO, from 1883 to 1913. Some of the different product names they bottled and promoted were "Club House, Coal Port, Grandee, LeRoy, San Bois, Shaughnessy Rye Malt, and Shaughnessy's Special."

I think the name 'Leroy' or 'Coal Port' is interesting. "Bartender I'll have LeRoy on the rocks."

Vince brought in some nice dairy bottles from his collection. One was a very nice 1-quart GARNER DAIRY in a deep amber color. On one side it reads "This amber bottle protects, from damage, the light- sensitive vitamins contained in milk." Than in bold letters it is printed "INSIST ON GLASS!"

From time to time I see glass soda bottles, but you never see glass dairy bottles anymore . . . at least not in my little world.

Another 1-quart dairy bottle that Vince displayed was a early 1900's I.F. Faust Cold Spring Dairy bottle from Route # 1, Andreas, PA.

Another nice bottle from Emmas, PA was E.G. Trexler, Meadow Brook Farm Dairy in a orange painted color label (A.C.L.)

Another very interesting bottle to an old screen printer like me, was a 1-quart, applied color-label bottle in 4 colors! The top letters, circling the neck in red said; "POTOMAC FARMS QUALITY DAIRY PRODUCTS."

It is a typical square 4-sided 1 quart bottle. On one panel in 'orange' color it advertised FRESH CREAM FOR COFFEE "There is no substitute"

Another panel, in 'green' color advertises "FRESH BUTTERMILK" and pictures a Dutch maid standing near her milk cow with her butter churn.

Another panel done in brown color, advertises (want to guess?) "CHOCOLATE MILK!"

On yet another side it advertised "Cottage Cheese!" Pretty neat! I am not well versed on Dairy Bottles, but I have to wonder how many 4 color A.C.L. bottles they made?

Kathleen Hurd brought in some of her favorite dairy bottles. One of the bottles she had made me regret I didn't have time to grab some. So, I was happy to see she had a nice 1-quart cream-top bottle.

She also had a nice 1- pint Borden's Cottage Cheese clear glass jar. At my grandfather's Michigan Cottage Cheese Company, they went in the 1930's, from stoneware crocks right into waxed cartons.

Kathleen also had a Horlick's Malted Milk bottle, which the local club diggers were very familiar with. Another item that brought smiles to many faces was a small, single-serving glass restaurant coffee creamer. Oh my! Lots of memories there!

Ron Smith brought in a very cool 8-bottle delivery man's basket filled with a nice assortment of local dairy bottles. This basket was what caught my eye! It is made from 3/8 inch metal straps riveted together with cross ribs on 3 inch centers. The center divider supports the handle which has a wound wire grip. It was built for a hard life and comfort! I don't know how many dairy collectors look for rare carriers, but it would be interesting to find out.

This is the point where I became overwhelmed, and somehow my pictures and notes get shuffled around. I know others brought in some cool bottles and I want to say some of these belonged to John Winkler.

We saw a nice Dowagiac Dairy half pint, a South Haven Dairy half pint.

Another great one was a 1-quart Bangor Dairy bottle which had a little verse printed on it. Old King Cole is pictured a his table spread out with a feast fit for a king. He is shown holding a glass of milk. Within a open scroll it reads;

"Old King Cole was a merry old soul, his eyes were full of laughter; Said he "Drink all the milk you can if health is what you're after."

Frankly I just scratched the surface here, we had a bunch of bottles at the last meeting. I apologize if I missed anyone.
Very neat heavy duty dairyman's delivery basket!
 

News 3 Bottle Dig Video

Last month one of the topics of interest was talk about a News 3 broadcast. After the Allegan County News did a very nice article about Chuck and Scott's antique bottle presentation, at the Otsego Historic Society, somehow News 3 contacted me about filming a piece on privy digging. Frankly I wasn't sure I would have time to do it.

They suggested coming to my shop to see what they could put together. My first thought was 'how do I clean up this mess in such short notice?' Well, I didn't have time to clean anything!

When the news reporter and camera man showed up, they were a little overwhelmed by all the treasures. I am so used to the stuff, all I see is the mess it is. So that was a relief! They filmed for what seemed like a couple hours, and it was pretty easy because all I had to do was answer questions.

We went around the shop and the camera man filmed the bottles that I have displayed on the walls. And, after a number of other questions, the news reporter was filmed with some opening lead-in remarks.

It was fun, and they told me the story would air that evening at 5:00 and again at 6:00

I got home in time to watch it and it really turned out great! Not because of any ability on my part, it was great because these guys are very professional at what they do! I was amazed at the finished product!

I was so excited about seeing it again at 6:00, and I was expecting to see the same news footage but this time it was different and even better!

They had asked me before they left my store if I could e-mail them some photos of actual digging in progress. I did! Most of the photos I used was from a dig I did with Mark Churchill, Glen Sweet and Chip Manion in Decatur a few years back. I also included a shot I had with Scott Hendrichsen deep in a 6 footer holding a bottle he just dug.

One of the photo's they used was one of Scott. That was when I realized I had failed to get his permission. Right away I gave Scooter a call, and he was already having a blast with the whole thing! Scott went onto the News 3 Facebook page and posted a comment about the show and his part in the photos.

Sometimes the Facebook and Twitter pages can be brutal. There are a number of hateful, childish, young college students who will tear you apart if you don't think as they do.

For the most part the reviews and comments were where very favorable, people seemed to really enjoy the program!

Then it happened! My old archenemy, an archaeologist spoke up. He was just a young one and wasn't quite poisonous yet. I have battled them for decades. I am sure some of these people are very serious about digging up ancient clues, but for the most part the American liberal has stepped in and found a way to milk all the money they can get their hands on out of the science.

If an archaeologist can make a politician believe that there may be any little trace of early history to be found, what awaits them is millions in tax payer funded grants for "study!" Just follow the money trail!

But this guy. . . he is trying to protect local privies? Yep, that is what he was selling! "Privy diggers are disturbing history!" He claimed to be a 'Professional Archaeologist' which is an oxymoron.

There is nothing to be found in these sites that are historically significant or historically unknown. What things we find, American museums are warehousing and have run out of room to contain it all. The digging we do is in no way hap-hazard, we restore the location to 'better than when we found it,' and in most cases the property owner is given pick of the items found.

Archaeologists are looting and robbing grave sites and not outhouses. Much of the hatred for Americans in middle eastern countries, is not because of religious differences, it is because American Archaeologists have looted and destroyed their sacred spots repeatedly. Archaeologists are grave robbers! I have worked with REAL archaeologist, and had we not been involved, they would have missed important items. Bottle digging is a hobby the entire family can enjoy. God forbid, someone should be involved in the "pursuit of happiness" in America.

THIS MONTH'S THEME IS:
" RECENT FINDS AND SHOW TREASURES! "

The Kalamazoo Antique Bottle Club meets at the main downtown Kalamazoo Library, located at 315 South Rose Street. We meet on the third floor in the conference room. This meeting is Tuesday, APRIL 14th. Meeting starts at 7:00 pm.

For questions

prostock@net-link.net

Or call 269-685-1776