Slammed a privy this afternoon

[CALDIGR2]

I actually dig my first pit since my cancer was discovered last April. Now that it's very nearly in the past I had a chance to get out this afternoon after receiving an inviting call from my digging partner. The area we probed is behind a late 1870s house that is for sale. The fenced portion of the yard was locked up tight, but the rear towards the alley was wide open and trashed by local residents. A couch, a TV, a couple of cheapo dressers, two mattresses and a pile of wet clothes had been dumped there. Right away we located a 3'X4'X4' privy and opened it up. Not too old, it contained a lot of bottles, a mixture of ABMs and BIMs. We did get a few local pharmacies and a embossed tooled crown soda. Most of the metal from a single seat buggy encumbered the hole, too. The springs, brake assembly, trusses, footrests, wheel hubs and rims, etc, were in the way and had to be removed to access the oldest portion of the pit. Nothing older than 1905, but what the heck. There were some "throwback" pieces of nice earlier glass in the top of the pit, an indicator of better bottles somewhere in the yard. After filling in that pit in the waning light a few more pokes with the trusty probe found another one less than 2' away. This one is 4' deep, but shows to be only 2'X3'. We'll get after that one tomorrow afternoon after my appointment with the Oncologist. I hope that it's not all ABMs. There's also a juicy map box inside the fenced yard of the house and we'll eventually get after it, too.

 

[surfaceone]

There's also a juicy map box inside the fenced yard of the house and we'll eventually get after it, too.

Hey Mike,

Glad to hear you're back at it. What the heck is a "map box" in this context?

 

[epackage]

I think it's a box marked out on a Sanborn Map Surf...if I'm reading this passage correctly that is...

The maps showed a total of 3 shared-hole locations for the Munster House, the blue pioneer dwelling, and a later house that moved-in a few years later. After making some drill holes (about the size of a quarter) where the outhouse map-box was, we probed and crunched on glass with the 4-footer. Then the hole decided to swallow the 6 foot probe too. So we brought in the 8 foot probe and POW, another layer of glass all the way to the handle....We knew we were in for a bomber pit. So Dave quickly fired up his new concrete slicing Skill-saw and cut out the slab of concrete which covered the old privy pit


from here...

http://www.westernbitters.com/2010/02/munster-house-dig.html

 

[CALDIGR2]

"Map box" is jargon for the small squares shown on the local Sanborn Fire Insurance Map that are privies. The 1895 map of our city shows all privy locations as of that year. The other "boxes" are usually very close.

 

[RICKJJ59W]

Glad your out digging Cal,I wish I was. I am about to dig anything at this point.
I keep running into road blocks that keeping me from digging,like fallen down trees from the last storm[][]

 

[downeastdigger]

Also very glad you are out digging. I'll bet the dirt smelled great to you.

Here's hoping that other hole has some good old glass in it.

 

[Penn Digger]

Cancer SUCKS, hope you're all better.

PD

 

[tigue710]

Good to hear your out digging Mike. All I got is a brass key today, 6 feet of fill down to a 6 inch layer of glass... And rock... A whole lotta rock, well there was a champagne in there but who counts those?

 

[JOETHECROW]

Mike,...hang in and keep on diggin'....Glad to hear you got in a dig!....Tique,...brass keys are cool too.[]

 

[rockbot]

Glad you got out Mike. Thats the way to do it man.[]

I'll be out in your neck of the woods next summer. Maybe we can hook-up![]