Coming Event!
BIMBO’S PIZZA!
To be honest with you; (which has always been very hard for me,) it will be good to see your smiling faces again . . . honestly!
It is true, absence makes the heart grow fonder!
For most of my life, I attributed that line to good ole, Ben Franklin from his Poor Richard’s Almanac, (whom I am sure had used it.)
But, it goes way-back. . . far back! Yes way before his time! Back to just before the birth of Jesus, or BC -1! It was used in a poem by ‘Sectus Propertius’ which stated:
“Semper in absentes felicior aestus amantes.”
So, if you are not sharp with your Latin, it translates to;
“Always toward absent lovers, love’s tide stronger flows.”
You know, what better group to expose a touch of culture to than my fellow privy diggers!
I used to get a kick out of a fellow dump-digger who would come to the bottle show wearing a formal top hat. Reminds me of a line from the Roger Miller song, ‘King of the Road.’
“I’m a man of means . . . by no means.”
Hey, I find no shame in being poor!
Just so you get the message, the September Meeting is at Bimbo’s Pizza!!
Tuesday September 9th! We are hoping to turn in our order by 6:30 so that is when we will start the proceedings ½ hour earlier than usual! Located
Downtown Kalamazoo
Bimbo's Pizza
338 East Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI,
Since the last newsletter . . . . Holy Smokes!
It is hard to know where to start other than at the last big meeting!
The meeting was held at the Portage District Library and it was a big hit!!
Our President Scott Hendrichsen presented, to a large group, a privy-digging presentation that about 30 years ago I was nearly killed for!
Yes there were some who wanted this sort of activity kept hush-hush!
When bottle digging was carried out in the early dumps, it was somewhat difficult to completely hide your activity. When digging evolved to backyard privy digging, the art of locating the good digging sites became very guarded. If you are finding a hot place to catch those big fish, you keep your mouth tied-as-tight as your flies!
I am serious! There were indeed some who guarded those precious secrets!
My biggest
disappointment was learning that there was no record
keeping! On a couple occasions we started
digging and before long we located unembossed pre-1900
hand- finished bottles. You would think that is a good
sign . . . right? Then, after following these
hand-blown clues all the way to the bottom of the pit,
we found Pepsi cans and cigarette butts. That will
quickly take the wind out of your 
sails. Scott your presentation was great! Scott, along with Dan Hill presented a slide presentation and displayed tables loaded with privy digging treasures!
I will have pictures on the web-site! There were big bowls of early American buttons, baby dolls and parts, clay smoking pipes, marbles, toys, hygiene items, combs and bone brush handles . . . and on and on! It was truly an amazing collection!
Seeing this excellent presentation really put a lump in my throat. I have watched this grow . . . and gets better and better, but, I sure do miss Chuck Parker, because he was a big part of this medicine show and we still miss him.
Our club presented member Ashley Carlson, with some baby shower gifts. Ashley told us her due date was at the end of August and she was right on schedule! Vince informed us with this announcement. “On Friday, August 22, 2025, KABC's Newest and Youngest Member was born, Everett John Carlson.
Ashley Carlson and their second baby boy are doing great! Older brother is already helping out Mom with his new brother. The young Carlson wants to learn how to dig privies and eat Bimbo's Pizza. It takes time! Everett, everyone must learn to fill a diaper before we learn to fill a privy. Congratulations to the Carlson Family !
We also had a special guest, Patti Taylor, who displayed a collection of bottles located scuba diving around Traverse City area.
As a Great Lakes History nerd, I cannot help but think of the millions of antique bottles littering the Great Lakes bottom land.
From the early years of America, and even before, the Big Lakes were a busy location for most travel. Before the Civil War and right up to the early 1950's Lake Michigan was a shipping traffic-jam.
Back in those days, even the most environmentally aware person, had no second thoughts about tossing empty bottles in the lake!
One of my good friends who loved to snorkel as a pastime. His actual job was working as the doctor on Mackinaw Island. He knew that I collected bottles, so he would save them for me. He would dive around the old steamship docks, and I thought how cool is that! The water there is clear as crystal!
So, I was going to give it a try, well . . . forget it! They didn’t mess with old Doc, because he is a valuable asset . . . they didn’t need me. . . except to buy fudge!
Did you happen to notice how Vincent, having made his living the in the world of plant husbandry, seems very concerned about the farmers in the desert- southwest? He seems deeply concerned with the growing and caring of the very delicate date palms. If I still had my T-Shirt silk screen press rolling, I would print him a shirt that says;
SAVE THE DATES!
Vincent gave me the attendance sheet for the May meeting in Portage. Here is the list I have. Lynn Kozik, Kelly Bobbit, Ashley Carlson, Steve DeBoode, Gary Dean, Mary Gale, Dan Hill, Al Holden, Ethan May, Elmer Ogg, Susan Schewe, Len Sheaffer, Kevin Siegfried, Linda Siegfried, Ron Smith, Brian Wages, Katie Wages, Scott Hendrichsen, Vincent Grossi, Patti Taylor.
The Portage Library promoted the presentation and there were around 17 guests present. The room was well
packed, and it was a cool program from
the start to finish! Thanks
Scott and Dan! Besides the amazing display of bottles and other treasures that Scott displayed, there were other items members displayed as well.
I didn’t keep careful notes with names, sorry. I bumped into several old friends, some I haven’t seen in years, which distracted my note taking . . . sorry! I will have pictures on the web site.
One item that Brian Wages brought in was something that sparked a lot of great memories for me, was a giant glass minnow trap!
As I have bored you with before, during the summer months growing up, I lived at my grandparents. My grandfather had retired and sold his business, Michigan Cottage Cheese Co. So off we went fishing everywhere! From Copper Harbor in the Keweenaw, to off the shore of Key West, and so far south that I could see Cuba. And we caught fish! From smelt to sharks!
But this minnow trap brought back the
memories of the old fashioned bait shops! In Florida
we used to buy bait at a shop, right near the Gulf, at
an inner harbor at Fort Myers Beach, Florida. The bait
we purchased would have been itself made into a meal
fit for a king! My fondest memories were the back-room bait shops at the local hardware stores in Plainwell and Otsego! When you walked in you were greeted by the sounds coming from the bubbling aerators in the minnow tanks, the high pitch singing of a thousand crickets and the earthy smell of fresh-soil worm beds.
It may be true?
“ Little Boys are made from Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails.”
“Be kind and tender to the frog and do not call him names, names like ‘slimy-skin’ or ‘polly-wog’ for you would not like the same!
SOME JOTTINGS
I have been asked several occasions about the progress on my motor home’s engine rebuild. I had the engine completed and ready to install way back in the early spring. We had hoped to have it on the road in June, and perhaps cruising on our way to the U.P. in July.
As usual, life got in the way. Over the summer we had 6 key graduation events. When you are one of 8 kids that is the way it goes.
Then, there were 4 funerals, and 2 milestone sibling’s birthdays, and 2 weddings!
My biggest obstacle is my job! Just ask my wife!
Between it all, I still managed to install the big engine in the motor home and, when everything was hooked up, I turned the key and it fired-right- up! It runs beautiful!
It runs smooth and quite! These 460's are famous for popping exhaust bolts and leaking exhaust, which had been an issue that bugged me! I feel that won’t happen with this one.
The only part that isn’t new is the engine block itself. But it was line-bored, the cylinders were bored +.30 and has all new forged pistons, rods, crankshaft, reworked 429 Cobra heads, Milling Cam, and much more! It is now 477 cubic inches and she has some real muscle!
In a case like this, where it is a 27 foot RV, more brute power can actually mean better gas mileage. I am hoping to jump from 6 miles per gallon to 10 which may be a lot to ask.
When I finished building it, I had several bolts left over! Whoops! (I replaced all the various hardened bolts with new.)
The oil pressure at start up is 80 p.s.i. and, after it reaches 180∘ she runs 60psi.
But, everything didn’t go smoothly. I had my friends at Martin Spring and Drive Line, do a total rebuild on my C6 transmission. They included a new torque converter. When I attached everything to the engine, I didn’t have the converter fully engaged. (I did, but it moved)
When you install a converter there are three engagement points or “three landings.” The first is after you insert the converter over the primary shaft called the “Stator.” When you feel that stop and hear that thump, you turn the converter slowly as you apply pressure, and it will engage with the next spline which is the Input Shaft “thump.”
The converter will slide in one more time and thud against the next landing which is the first or forward pump. Unfortunately, it only engages that pump by a fraction of an inch.
I was just as careful as I could be, putting the transmission in place, but not careful enough! The converter slid out of the pump in the process of aligning with the engine! I ended up removing the transmission two times before I got it right. This was all on a concrete slab in my back yard! Yes, a 74 year old man laying on his back in transmission fluid! I hate transmission fluid!
I Fell Into a Burning Ring of Fire.
No, this has nothing to do with Johnny Cash, the mistakes are all mine. I took my first computer in trade back in 1995 and was challenged to figure it out. As a baby boomer I am not officially a member of that generation. When I was in High School we had pocket calculators but they were strictly forbidden in classes.
In the 1990's you could buy programs on floppy disc, and the Internet was just a newborn toddler. There were small amounts of social media in the form of forums. The only metal detecting site online was Treasure.Net started by Western Eastern Treasures magazine.
About this same time, I was a victim of cruel theft and deception. This guy came in to my store showing some interest in one of the latest metal detectors. I have a fault of overselling and showing off my knowledge which is the evil sin of Pride.
As he would leave the store he expressed interest in the detector, but said he would have to think it over.
The next time I saw him walk in, I thought he was prepared to make the purchase. Nope, another model peeked his interest, so I showed him every last detail including how to tune the detector for best results. He seemed very interested but he needed time to think it over.
This happened over again-and-again! I am not the brightest bulb on the tree!
Each one of these visits included a hundred questions and it happened several times.
In the R.V. business we call this customer a tire kicker.
One day I received a phone call from two different detector distributors. Thinking back, now I can see they were flattering really. They had a request from someone who wanted to start a dealership in Cassopolis.
Frankly that was not in my protected territory. A dealer only has, a promise, from the company, that they will not infringe on your zip code. In my case my shop is a Plainwell, Zip, located in Otsego township! This means they could set up a dealer next door!
They wanted my approval which I gave them. They wanted my approval because I was their best dealer. And yes indeed it was the guy I had been training.
He spent big bucks with a web developer who built him a e-commerce web-site with shopping cart and live chat.
To make a long story short he failed. His customers kept finding out about me and they brought me their problems. That, plus he found out you need to pay your taxes.
I was already able to build web pages and I figured I would put something together for the Kalamazoo Bottle Club. It was simply a place to post monthly newsletters and post pictures. Everyone I talked to said “go to Go-Daddy for domain names and web hosting . . .I did. At the time you could buy a domain name, if somebody wasn’t using it for $1.00 . . . yes one dollar.
Then, I had one for the detecting club, the bottle club and my shop. Next E-Bay insisted that all photos come from a secure server . . . so I purchased a security socket layer.
I had all these sites located on Go-Daddy. The cost became so high I decided to cut the secure layer to the bottle club site a big savings! But, after that, the site wouldn’t function! I contacted them to learn why. I was told everything would have to be re-coded . . . almost 30 years of work . . . I won’t live that long! So I purchased one more year of SSL secure socket layer to give us time to think.
Next I get a bill for the domains (you don’t really buy them) the hosting service, and the SSL which came to about $6,500.00. So, I suggest the club focus on Facebook because I cannot maintain this any longer. I will be pulling all of this down very soon. So if there is any newsletters you care to download, you better do it soon.
The Kalamazoo
Antique Bottle Club
Meets this month
at Bimbo’s Pizza
Meeting starts at 6:30
prostock@net-link.net
Phone 269-685-1776
Web Address
www.kalamazoobottleclub.org
Meets this month
at Bimbo’s Pizza
Meeting starts at 6:30
prostock@net-link.net
Phone 269-685-1776
Web Address
www.kalamazoobottleclub.org