| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Horseyrider |
Posted - Jun 05 2007 : 6:49:34 PM
Out in my back yard, behind the cob house and tool shed, there's a huge old maple tree. It's so big there's no way that two people could reach around it's trunk and touch each other. I've planted irises and day lilies underneath, and over the years many odd pieces of metal and debris come to the surface. It's pretty clear that it was someone's dump a long time ago, and a tree sprouted up in the middle. There has been someone farming here for about 140+ years.
One of the things that came up the other day was a ringlike piece of glass. It was in pristine shape, so I took it in the house and scrubbed it. It looked like a bushing, but it was made of glass. No way would a glass bushing survive.
It sat around the house for awhile. Hubby and I both mused on what it might be. There was a bit of writing on it: it said "Patent Aug 7th, 83---- 1884-3." On a whim, I sat down to the computer, and put "Patent August 7th, 1883" in a google search engine.
Would you believe that the first hit to come up was pictures of this piece of glass?
It's a glass pump valve seat, for hand powered water pumps.
I couldn't help but think of the people who threw this thing in the dump, discarding it as useless. I thought of how it waited under the dirt for decades and went forward in time, and into the hands of someone who had no clue what it was. And also the effortlessness of finding out.
It's a funny little bridge to the past. |
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Firemama |
Posted - Jun 06 2007 : 12:40:26 PM
That so cool of a find, we havent found anything here at our place except old reciepts from when they built the house in the 40s. Over at my dads place though, they have found several very smalls glass bottles.
Mommy to 2
Your FreckleFaced Farm Girl!!
Help when you can, Pray when you can't. |
| Alee |
Posted - Jun 06 2007 : 08:23:30 AM
Bev-
Your story is so funny! I bet you have a few of those stories, don't you? Your Nana sounds like she was a kick!
Alee |
| Bee Haven Maven |
Posted - Jun 06 2007 : 06:51:46 AM
That "rubbers" story made me laugh and reminded me of my Nana.....born in 1901, she tried to be as "hip" to the language as possible.....She once was telling me about some young lady in town who had gotten herself "knocked Up" as she put it. She then went on to tell me it was because her boyfriend had not worn his "boots". I had to laugh, she was dead serious!
Keep Smiling.....Bev
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| Mumof3 |
Posted - Jun 06 2007 : 06:37:16 AM
That's my dream as well, Tracey. To live in a place that has history that you can be a part of. Mary Ann- LOL Your box story made me laugh!! I remember when I was a little girl I had red rubbers for rainy days! I loved them! Hope you keep finding really cool stuff!
Karin
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| Tracey |
Posted - Jun 06 2007 : 06:30:51 AM
How fun! I often wish we lived in an older home, or on an old homestead where we could discover such things as that. Congrats on your find 
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| KYgurlsrbest |
Posted - Jun 06 2007 : 06:24:56 AM
That's soooo cool! Maybe you could tie a pretty ribbon or something through it and hang it in a window?
I also love the story about the "rubbers" crate, but having lived in England, my mind went straight to the tootsies!
"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." Margaret Atwood
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| junkjunkie |
Posted - Jun 06 2007 : 06:13:09 AM
I love that story! How cool that remnants of past lives come to the surface to give a history of an old home. You should display it....it's a lot of fun! |
| Horseyrider |
Posted - Jun 06 2007 : 04:47:17 AM
I'm sure it's relatively worthless, but I'll probably put it with some bottles we've found.
When we moved here there was a wooden box in the basement. It says "GLOVE BRAND RUBBERS." I thought it was kewl. My high school age daughters were embarrassed when I used it for a TV stand. Inside were the merchant's instructions for how to display the merchandise, which at that time went on the feet. Once I saw the same type of box for sale in an antique store for $375. It made me laugh. |
| nut4fabric |
Posted - Jun 05 2007 : 8:15:15 PM
How cool is that!!! I love just finding old stuff that has been hanging around in the dirt for years. One year when living in California we had several days of really hard rain and an old medicine bottle washed down from a hill behind our house. Hope you find a great way to desplay it.
Hugs, Kathy |
| Alee |
Posted - Jun 05 2007 : 7:28:53 PM
That is an amazing find! I am sure that they are pretty hard to find intact! What are you going to do with it?
Alee |
| Bee Haven Maven |
Posted - Jun 05 2007 : 6:57:07 PM
It is such a contrast....the days when that piece of glass was just dumped compared to today.....we live in such an amazing time with limitless information at our fingertips.
Keep Smiling.....Bev
Check out my shoppe at www.honeybeez.etsy.com
www.beehavenacres.blogspot.com , www.beehavenmaven.blogspot.com |
| RachelLeigh |
Posted - Jun 05 2007 : 6:54:22 PM
That's a very cool story! To think the glass survived intact for over 100 years - in the dirt!!!
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