11/2/03

            Steve was coming to Beloit to dig. I had to scramble a bit to get something  lined up. I stopped at Tilley's Ballyhoo, a local pizza joint with the best pizza in town.  We were digging next door on   8/23/03  and found a spot close to the lot line. The owner of the barber shop was not sure it it was her's or Tilley's. 

Tilley's

            They told me the owners would be in around two. I called back, which I hate to do. It's better when you can talk to the people face to face. Anyway, Sing said to go ahead.

            The next morning Steve and I arrived at the site. Craig was headed to Madison to a bottle show, he couldn't make it. As you can see in the pic above, it was a crappy day. Steve and I spent the first 2 hours driving around looking for more spots and waiting for the rain to let up. When it did, we located the pit we had found, plus two more. The edges were marked out and the digging started. I am noticing a trend with our digging luck. The first shard to show up is always some old looking blue stuff, followed by pink ash and screw top bottles. This hole was no exception. About two feet down a 1920ish screw top embossed with something about "putting a comb in the bottle". Fearing some of the turds may still be warm, this hole was filled.

The lot line

                The next one has got to be older. It was. About 2 years older. Again, a unanimous vote was reached and another hole number 3 was laid out and prepped for excavation. It was fairly deep, we had stuck the 7' probe in up to the handle without hitting bottom. Some turn of the century jars were turning up about 2' down. I made the comment "It has been awhile since we had a pit full of whiskeys". Steve immediately threw up a bunk whiskey. It ended up just like all the other places we have dug around here, full of broken whiskeys. This must have been the party block back in the day. Steve then handed up a neat little figurine of a boy with his sister hanging on his shoulder. The next item of interest was a boy on a chamber pot. I have seen these before, I wonder if they were a potty training tool. Steve starts to laugh and hands it up. "Look, he has a coin coming out of his butt!". Sure enough, the kid had an imitation coin stuck between his cheeks. I am still smiling. What was that all about? Has anyone seen one, let me know!

Money falling out his butt!

We had reached a cap when the rain decide to worsen. A decision had to be made on if we should finish or leave. We were thinking the stuff under the cap would be older, so we pitched a tent and kept digging.

Hey, at least we were dry

A local Janesville Croak Beer Crowntop came out (ABM). As well as a bisque doll head. About 20 minutes later we filled it in. I had found another pit, but the rain was going to make it to hard.  We headed home.

I twisted Steve's arm, and we went to my Mother's project house in East Troy. She and her husband have been remodeling it. I was helping one day and found a paper in the wall from the 1840s.

The "Broken House"

 It was a country home on a large lot. We had found the well on 4/26/03. But, the privies have been eluding me for a couple years. We probed for an hour. This was the easiest probing I have ever done. The ground must have been just moist enough. All you had to do was lean and the probe was to the handle. Needless to say, we still have not found it! Getting back to the well dig, it was one of my favorites. A couple hutches that came out are pretty rare, including one from Palmyra, a quart Minnehaha from Eagle. There was also a good variety of medicines and local beers.

        Anyway, the take from the day include the two figures, doll head, a marble and a bead.