Hutch City and a few keepers!

jgas · Apr 14, 2015

Got out today and unbelievably dug 3 privies. Crazy spring weather will make you do that sort of thing sometimes. Usually we are lucky to even get two done in one day before cramping up :tongue3:

So we stared off the day in a fairly deep one at around 6 feet. Didn't get much but captured a flask and a blob beer from our friends in Michigan. So not a bad start by any means. :headbang:

Then it was off to the middle of the yard to re probe two more pits that we had probed in the past but didn't feel quite right :icon_scratch:

so we tried again and said what the heck. Might as well try it. The day was young and perfect and the sun was out. So down we went and this one didn't turn out much either. Just a whole lot of broken stuff. Plain blob beers with no embossing. A few fruit jars but nothing with any age to them. We were in the early 1900's. Did manage to get a decent pint milk from the area but that was about it. :BangHead:

So off to the third one we go in hopes of a bit more. By now we Don and I were smoked. We were dragging after moving a few thousand pounds of dirt with not too much to show. But perseverance pays off. So we decided to hit the last one of the day. At least when I probed it I was able to feel the clear sound of glass as the tip of the probe hit it. Even had a hollow type sound like a whole bottle, which was quite unusual. So after starting and clearing the usual bricks :BangHead:

and debris down we go through some ash layers and sugar sand. Out pops a local hutch. Then another, then another and another and another.... :laughing7:

until we had a nice pile full of different hutches. The Don pulls out a nice tool top crown beer form Kamm and Shellinger Brewing in Mishawaka Indiana. A nice one that we have not found before :thumbsup:

Then as the pit came to an end and the bottom was found we always check the side walls and the way back up. Surprise I pulled out another Kamm beer but this was a different bottle maker on the base and it was more aqua than the other. So another decent find to finish the day. All in all it turned out nice with some keepers. We just made it to the 1890's and hope to yet find an older pit there somewhere. But like I say we can be persistent and we will be back to try again. Hope you all find some treasure today. Goodluck and be safe out there! jgas

bottlehunterofcoscob · Apr 14, 2015

Beautiful digs, great to see you guys out there!!!

villagenut · Apr 14, 2015

Love seeing open pits and bottles along side...thanks for sharing.

CoilyGirl · Apr 14, 2015

Wow,that would be a blast to dig a privy. Great finds!

john glassman · Apr 15, 2015

That a nice dig and bottles too I noticed in your first pic you have the type of shovel I have I had to laugh seeing it.

epackage · Apr 15, 2015

Great day....

sunrunner · Apr 16, 2015

on top of the world!

Bass · Apr 16, 2015

Good digging jgas. Those blob beers are nice. Hope you guys find some more pits. By the way, I love the term "sugar sand" it does have a unique sweet smell, lol

unclemac · Apr 16, 2015

great story! clean those puppies off and show them off

jgas · Apr 20, 2015

Hey Bass, it does smell sweet for sure. Don says it doesn't to him but it has a distinct sweetness to it. Although sugar sand here means it's a collapse waiting to happen! Yikes. Jgas.

Bass · Apr 20, 2015

Yep I have about 50 bottles in a closet that mostly came from privies. Keep in mind, these bottles have been scrubbed thoroughly inside and out, more than once. When you open the door, you get a unique smell. To me it smells like you poured a beer out on a hot sidewalk and threw granulated sugar on top of it and stirred it together then stepped back about 5 ft just to get a faint smell. And to think that's 150 year old poop! Lol