Time Team
I grew up in Oshawa, Ontario and for a short time lived in the downtown area. My Mum and I went for a walk one day to the nearby Kinsmen Park. We arrived at the top of the hill leading down to the park and creek. Landscaping renovations had been started there but they had finished for the day. Mum and I peered over the edge at the deep cuts made by a backhoe. There were a lot of objects sticking out of the freshly dug earth. Climbing down for a closer look, our eyes lit up.
We immediately starting picking and scratching at the dirt 'wall' removing old, glass bottles of every description. A green Lee & Perrins bottle, blue glass, lavendar glass, milk(white)glass! A Keen's Mustard tin with the label still on it disintegrated in my hands. We brought home as much as we could.
My Mum's friend Tom, the local historian lived in our apartment building. She told me to show him what we'd found. He was quite surprised and excited. We had found the local dump that was in use in the 1920's -1930's! I went back and collected more. A Pond's Cold Cream jar, medicine bottles, a cobalt blue poison bottle and more. What a find! It gave me 'the bug' so I learned all about it.
I've been living in Whitby, Ont. for years in an big, old, grey house(!) that was built in the 1850's. In 1986 I found an 1886 penny and 1901 penny in my garden. Added to my collection are more glass bottles and one children's ice skate from the 1930's. I wish I could dig up my whole back yard just like on the show, 'Time Team'!
(OGH, Wed 6 Jul 2005, 20:30, Reply)