MARCH-00 Digging Results

Wow!!!! I finally sat down to add a new story last night. I had written about oh,.....2 hours worth or so when Netscape failed and shut me down without any warning. I know I know, I should have saved it more, but you know! Anyway, here we go again.

Here is the deal. I've been digging solo a lot lately and with Carl and Dan when they are available. I've probably dug 20 pits since our last chat. I have been getting out almost every Sunday, and also recently did a two part T.V. dig special that turned out pretty cool. Other news is that I have taken two more check rides with the FAA recently completing my Airline Transport Pilot certificate and getting a type rating in a CASA-212.

This dig documentation is kind of short but has a good ending. I started out around 10:00 in the morning by myself looking for possible privy sites. To make a long story short, I didn't find anything to speak of. I got some permissions but had not found any pits all day.

Crunch time was hitting me big by now as I was running out of daylight and the pressure was on. I decided to go back and probe a yard that I had found 4 pits in already at the beginning of the year. For some reason, (E.S.P. for bottle retrieving) I felt like there was still something there, honestly! I had probed this yard to death already though and was confident there was nothing left when I finished last time. BUT I STILL WENT BACK TO PROBE AGAIN!

As I was walking around sticking the probe in the yard I hit a new pit! I know for sure I had probed this spot before but must have missed it. * One note I would like to add is that placement of outhouses followed no rhyme or reason in the 1800's. When I find multiple pits in a yard they are scattered all over the yard following no geometric pattern to speak of so don't always walk a straight line looking for pits.
The probe sank in so sweet that I couldn't believe that it was overlooked the first 4 times! Something can be learned here I'm sure. Could be the weather, or me, or both. Who knows. The next event would be tarp placement, then the sod was cut off and carefully moved to its temporary new home.

I had a lot of fun digging this hole. I get at least half the excitement from just finding a site. Sometimes I think I like that part of digging for bottles the best. This pit was in heavy wet sand, and sand pits are nice because they usually keep the bottles in good shape cutting down on oxidation and staining.
As I was working my way down, at a level of about 4 feet now, I was wondering where all the bottles were. A few pieces of blown druggist where showing up, but no bottle cache. The pit was about 5 feet deep when a shallow use layer surfaced. I lightly scaped the next dirt load with the tip of the shovel because there really where no signs of glass to speak of when all of the sudden I got a glimpse of something round and dark cobalt blue. I knew it had to be something good.

**Boy was I surprised to see this 1870's soda!**

This looked too good to be true. Would it be cracked, or the neck broken off like they always are, or would it be solid and whole.

It's a perfect GEO. NORRIS CITY BOTTLING WORKS DETROIT MI.!!

This is where the story ends, really. That was the only bottle in this pit! I was really surprised, but how could I complain. I've been waiting to dig one of these in good shape for a while now.

That wrapped up the digging in this yard. Like I said that was pit # 5. This is the same yard those AWSOME teal Michigan druggists came from. Remember I said the owner told of a story that back in the 60's a paving crew dug all the back yard out and replaced it with sand. She also said there where "dark blue heavy bottles" all over the place on the ground after the guys where done....I wonder what they where.....da!

Well that does it for know. Stop by again to see the next big find! See ya, Scott.