I've enjoyed doing the recent Blog posts on two old area bottles that proved to be somewhat of a mystery. One was from West Creek (March 23rd Blog) and the other from Cedar Run (April 17th Blog). I got to thinking that some interesting bottles must have been unearthed in New Gretna over the years. Strange that I haven't heard of any from my own backyard.
Seems that two of our regular Blog readers, Elaine Mathis and Phyllis Briggs, have been holding out on me when it comes to New Gretna bottle hunting. They might try to deny it, but I've got the proof in the following April 26, 1966 Tuckerton Chronicle news clipping written by Phyllis Briggs.
Hopefully, this will jog Elaine and Phyllis' memories of some long forgotten bottles that they dug up over 40 years ago. I would be interested to hear about some of their bottle escapades, where their favorite diggings places were, and if any of their finds were embossed with some of our local town names. How about it girls? Let's hear from you!
John Costas, the local Presbyterian preacher during the New Gretna bottle hunting craze, was another avid bottle collector who also branched out into the sport of metal detecting. His hobby proved lucritive enough to help send his children through college. You can read about his bottle hunting by clicking on the link below. The article was written after Rev. Costas left New Gretna for Blackwood, but the old timers tell me that he did some serious bottle digging when he was in New Gretna.
I'm sure that there are some interesting collections of bottles in attics and cellars throughout New Gretna. If anyone out in the Blog-O-Sphere can tell us about them and their experiences digging for bottles in New Gretna, it would be appreciated.
Pete S