10-12-03

10/12/03 I thought I would be able to dig, but I ended up working. I met a guy on the job from Indiana. It ends up that Ted has the 2nd largest collection of Ball Fruit Jars in the world. I spent my lunch break with him. He showed me pics of his jars. A truly unbelievable collection. I wish I could have seen it in person. The colors, sizes, and variants!

It sure is fun talking with someone who is as passionate and knowledgeable about jars as Ted. I think it is funny how many times I hear others(and myself) say, "If I had only started 30 years sooner".

Craig called me on Sat. We decided to do a dig on a boarded up house. I had probed the house earlier in the week and located a pit in the back corner. The house is on the edge of old,one of those pits you know are not going to be very good,but you dig them anyway. Well I was right! Total bunk! After we filled it in we decided to go to Kenosha and dig the other one I had probed on the house where I took the tree down. Well the guy was not home so we went down the alley to another pit I had probed the week before. After double checking with the owner we opened it up. The first thing out was a PUCE THREADLESS INSULATOR! Oh wait a minute,it was only an aqua Brookfield. Very few bottles and very few shards. I did collect enough shards to piece together half of a pre hutch soda. I had dug a piece of this soda across the alley a couple of weeks earlier. This time I had enough to see the name and city. "BERND'S & MASSOLT / MINEAPOLIS MINN"( I believe Minneapolis is spelt with 2 n's) which was the Massolt who moved there from Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 1867. There was also an amber "BRYANTS root beer from Detroit,and a Dr Jaynes tonic vermifuge and loads of metal. It was about 2:30 when we finished,Craig and I were both beat as they were 2 hard digs,so we called it a day.