My neighbors have all the fun. Seriously. They’ve had problems with water in their basement so they called on some landscapers to regrade their backyard. Landscapers dug up tons of really, really old glass bottles. We’re not talking Coors Light or even Coke. These bottles range in size from a tiny dropper size to a small whiskey flask size. Some of them have raised lettering reminiscent of the earliest Coke bottles (circa 1894).

Here they are lined up on the railing, several days after they were unearthed.

Historians (i.e.  the oldest people on the block) say this street was a farm way back when. But so were most houses in Suburban America. Knowing this region and it’s love affair with alcohol, I’m thinking early moonshine bottles.

The really tiny ones must have been travel size. I’m guessing the TSA wasn’t as strict back then, and if you wanted to bring something to warm you up on a cold wagon ride across town, why bring whatever size you want – just bring enough to share with the rest of the menfolk.

Or maybe it was for stashing a much-needed drop of spirits among petticoats or waistcoats during a visit to the future in-laws, confrontations with dangerous outlaws, or fortification when going to fight yet another skirmish at Fort Whatnot.

 

Who knows.

What I find so beautiful about these bottles is that they’re a tangible link to our past. I know it’s cliche, but there’s no other way to say it. I’d love to find out what these bottles were used from, why they were buried, and how long they’ve been lying there waiting to be found.  If you’ve got clues, let me know!