| Volume 20 Issue
N0. 4
December 022 |
| KALAMAZOO ANTIQUE
BOTTLE CLUB NEWS Written By, Allan C. Holden |
| MERRY CHRISTMAS YE OLDE
KALAMAZOO ANTIQUE BOTTLE CLUB! |
Great Encouragement! Yes indeed! With everything in this world looking so bleak, it did my heart good to see so many friendly faces! Honestly, between the blessings I get from Sunday services at church, the bottle club meetings are a great boost for my morale! Here is a list of the friendly faces at our Thanksgiving meeting: Steve DeBoode, Elmer Ogg, Kevin Siegfried, Rob Knolle, Tim Hayes, Mandy Hayes, Mellissa Hayes, Vincent Grossi, Ron Smith, Len Sheaffer, Juli Sheaffer, Kelly Bobbitt, Scott Hendrichsen, and your meek and humble servant, Allan Holden. 
And, as you would expect, no bottle club meeting would
be great without a sparkling assortment of
still-steaming, freshly-dug landfill treasures! The very second I walked into the November meeting, I saw, Elmer Ogg and Steve DeBoode, both seated behind a colorful wall of A.C.L. ( applied, colored- label) milk bottles . . . then a big smile spread across my face! Let’s take them one at a time. First, was a sharp one- quart bottle with bright blue lettering, “Shafer’s Dairy” That name rang a bell in my head as being something local. I discovered I was wrong. My grandfather’s company, Michigan Cottage Cheese Co, was a distributor for Allegan’s Sheffer’s Luscious Cheese which got me confused They made the best sharp cheddar cheese! My grandfather taught me, a good cheddar must be served at room temperature. A great cheddar will almost melt into a savory cream in your mouth! Truly they had every right to claim the title “Luscious.” I checked with Steve and we were not able to establish the location on the Shafer’s Dairy.  Next, a one quart,
“Hale’s Dairy” Richland, MI.
I found a Obit for Howard Hale who died at age 97. It
mentioned he worked on the family’s Richland Dairy
farm and also delivered milk. Howard’s father Frank
was the owner of Hales’s Dairy
Farm.Next, Steve had a couple War Time Patriotic Bottles, which I understand are the highly treasured dairy  bottles!On one, (I am disappointed in myself because I only have a picture of one side.) In red, white and blue letters, and graphics, it features, “Buy War Bonds Everybody--Every Payday 10%.” Frankly, I cannot imagine this country ever coming together over a common enemy today. Another bottle was a Kalamazoo Bottle from “Reender’s Dairy.” It featured a maroon/blue pyro label from REENDER’S DAIRY KALAMAZOO MI It features a milkman and in bold print: “GOVERNMENT ORDER, CAN NOT DRIVE BACK FOR COLLECTIONS.” Conserving vital  materials was very important! I can
remember my folks leaving cash in an envelope with the
empty bottles out on the front steps. Roelof Dairy from Galesburg was another neat local bottle. John Roelof owned the dairy farm and depended on local door to door delivery. When that service was phased out, they picked up store accounts, but their biggest account was supplying M.S.U. with milk  products. In 1999 Roelof was purchased
by Prairie Farms Dairy.
Ideal Dairy Company Kalamazoo, was also represented by Steve with a one-quart bottle with bright script lettering, Ideal Dairy Co. Kalamazoo, MI. I seem to remember the product in the stores. The address was 610 North Burdick, Kalamazoo. If you try to do an Internet search, let me tell you, “Ideal Dairy” was a common dairy name all across the country! Ok, I have to admit I fell into a bog, one that I couldn’t seem to crawl out of! Back in the 50's we had a neighbor who sold Dodge, Plymouth and DeSoto cars at a dealership in Otsego, and at another one in Paw Paw called, R.A. Imus. One of Steve’s bottles is an “Imus Dairy, Guernsey Milk, Galesburg, MI.” No connection! There were so many tiny little family dairies, which, in time have been forgotten.  I have learned the
dairy collectors have a keen knowledge of what is
common and what is rare, and perhaps that is all most
collectors need to know, but very little else is known
on many of these small firms. McCamley Dairy, Kalamazoo. Easy one to track down history on . . . right? WRONG! The McCamley name is well known around Kalamazoo, Portage and Battle Creek . . . but all is silent about the dairy.  Harnden’s Golden Guernsey Milk, Galesburg, MI is another dairy that was removed from anyone’s memory! I even joined the Vanished Galesburg & Augusta Cherished Memories Facebook page in my research and . . . crickets! When I get time I will post a couple dairy bottles from Galesburg in that group and see if that stirs some thought. Next, lets take a look at Elmer Ogg’s treasures! First a nice golden honey-amber “Mary T Goldman’s Gray Hair Restorer Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Goldman family was involved in the hair-care business when Moses Goldman started in Detroit in 1869. It looks like they moved to Toledo and Mary T. Goldman’s name was used on the product in 1880 and Moses passed away in 1888. 
Mary moved her business to Minneapolis after 1888, and
finally settled in Saint Paul.I have one of these bottles in my collection with the beautiful flowing script and I love it! Elmer’s has the original box! Another hair care product bottle Elmer displayed, with original packaging, was a little hard to figure out. It was lettered in a ornate flowing monogram script from the Victorian period. I thought it said J X S and boy was I off.  When I came up empty, I tried other letter combos, with the middle letter “X” and still no luck. Then I switched my focus to “United States Pharmacal Co. Chicago, Ill. That was the key to the puzzle. The monogram was I X L ! Now you know why you don’t see product names in script anymore! IXL Hair Restorative is for improving the beauty and luxuriance and quality of the hair. It prevents baldness, prevents turning gray or fading and prevents the hair from falling out. All this for the low-low- cost of only 50¢! But wait, if you call now we will double the offer! Elmer wasn’t done yet! He had a full bottle, (with original wrapper no-less) of Wyeth’s Sage Sulpher Compound!  John
L. Wyeth, President of Wyeth Chemical Co., of New York City,
said the brand name had been in use since 1888. There
was also a "Wyeth's Hair Tonic"
for sale in the 1885 McKesson & Robbins catalog.Although the name of this preparation would indicate that it was made of sulphur & sage, an examination prior to 1921 had shown this not to be the case. In Nostrums & Quackery, they mentioned that the government had determined that it contained  sulphur,
lead acetate, glycerine, and cayenne pepper (and seven
secret herbs and spices). The company was fined $50
for using a misleading brand name.The label on the bottle also says there is another size that holds twice as much! I want everyone to know that Kevin Siegfried has a bright gold star on his K.A.B.C. report card and I also mentioned “He gets along well with others!” I had asked folks to help me out by putting together a quick list of the bottles they bring to the meetings. Kevin did just that! I don’t even care that I can’t read it, Kevin still wins the Tootsie Roll Pop! (Unfortunatly my cat ate it) Thank you, Kevin! Kevin brought in a dairy bottle with a proud history!  “Stinton’s
Holland Dairy,” So that sounds local does it
not? Well, it isn’t! It is from Colorado Springs,
Colorado.In 1880 Melvin Sinton arrived from New York and established the Sinton Dairy. Sinton Dairy grew successful selling milk products to health-seekers under doctor’s orders to drink large quantities of milk to cure their tuberculosis.  They started with twelve red cows to produce fourteen quarts of milk costing 10 cents delivered daily with a horse-drawn wagon.  Kevin also displayed a cottage cheese jar from Cream Crest Farms, Skokie, IL. I Didn’t find much history on this dairy, but the number of bottles and jars on the collector market makes me believe they made a lot of good product! Next Kevin has a bottle with full colorful label, Perfect Ammonia Compound, but I didn’t have my camera on auto-focus, so my photo didn’t turn out well enough to read the fine print. The next bottle Kevin displayed has some real roots! “Old Oscar Pepper Whiskey” Today this distillery is the current home of Woodford Reserve Distillery. It was built alongside Glenn’s Creek in Woodford County, KY in 1812, on a 350 acre lot owned by Elijah Pepper, a farmer-distiller.  The distillery
is one of the oldest standing distilleries in
Kentucky, and is on the National Register of Historic
Places. Dr. James Crow perfected the sour mash
technique while working here and insisted on aging
bourbon in charred oak barrels “Old Crow.”Distillers & Operators from this distillery were Elijah Pepper 1812 - 1831  Oscar N. Pepper 1831 James Crow 1833 - 1855 Oscar Pepper died in 1865, the estate was transferred to his youngest son, a minor, which meant Oscar’s wife controlled the distillery. Oscar’s oldest son James E. Pepper managed the distillery, produced “Old Crow Whiskey” and called the distillery “Old Crow Distillery”. 
James E Pepper sued his mother for sole ownership, and
partnered with Col. Taylor to make improvements in
1872.In 1877 Col. Taylor took sole ownership when James Pepper declared bankruptcy. Col. Taylor experienced his own financial ruin not long after, and ownership was transferred to George T. Stagg. Labrott & Graham acquired the distillery in 1878 In 1880, James E. Pepper built a new distillery and sued Labrott & Graham for the right’s to the “Pepper” name. L&G won the case and continued to call the distillery “Old Oscar Pepper Distillery” Also, from Kevin, I purchased a silver-dollar sized coin, Frederick William III. He was born  August 3rd, 1770 – Died June
7th 1840. He was King of Prussia from November
16th 1797 until his death in 1840. At the same
time he was Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman
Empire until 6 August 1806, when the Empire was
dissolved.Frederick William III ruled Prussia during the difficult times of the Napoleonic Wars. The king reluctantly joined the coalition against Napoleon in the Befreiungskriege.  The coin
is dated 1818, and, I wanted to know, in comparison
the circulating value at that time, what could it buy?
My grandfather, one hundred years after this coin, lived in Prussia and was a messenger in the Prussian Military around 1918. After his service, he worked in a coal mine in that same part of east Germany. He told me the story how he and his brother supported the family, only barely getting by. One day, the miners learned they were getting a small raise, and they also learned the percentage of that wage increase. This was my grandfather who came to the United States in 1926 and started Michigan Cottage Cheese Company retiring a millionaire. He had a pretty good way of sorting out finances, and after considering the wage increase, they were satisfied it would help the family budget substantially. After getting the new pay check with raise, they took a wagon to town to purchase needed supplies. The pay raise was something like 6% and when they arrived at the store all the products went up 7% so they were worse off than before. (That was his lesson about the evil of Union greed.) By 1924-25 Inflation in Germany was so bad he told me, unless you could barter, you were finished. A wheelbarrow full of German money would not buy a loaf of bread because the money was worthless. A lesson for America today! Scott Hendrichsen displayed a really cool, rare, 1-pint Kalamazoo whiskey flask “Albert Doll” 107 East Main Street, Kalamazoo, MI. And, a sweet, metal detecting find, a Michigan 5¢ Trade Token for “Albert Doll’s” saloon! Now, it just doesn’t get any cooler than that! Vincent’s Meeting Notes 1. Our next bottle show will be on April 8th, 2022 Show hours are changing to the new bottle show times: 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM. ( per John Pastor ). 2. The bottle club will not have the FIVE DOLLAR BOTTLE Sales this month. Will reschedule for the January 10th, 2023 meeting. 3. The bottle club voted at the October 11, 2022 meeting to remain on the current Second Tuesday Meeting schedule at the Museum. ( Based on the club's first survey ) 4. The bottle club voted at the October 11, 2022 meeting to meet year around.( Based on the club's first survey ) 5. The bottle club discussed and asked at the November 8, 2022 meeting, if everyone would be interested in being club treasurer for the remaining of Al Holden's term ( one year remaining ). Al doses a lot for the club. Al has a lot on his plate. Hopefully, someone will step up to the plate and be willing to help out. IN MEMORY OF
Well folks, I think of all that we
have been through as friends and club members, and I
am thankful for each of you. George W. MacLeod I regret the terrible job I did on the newsletter's hard copy. I was really pushed into a corner for time, and it went out unedited and in the crudest form. And the most important part was left out . . . sorry.  I had received a text
message from my friend, Mark McNee,saying a dear friend had passed away. George MacLeod passed away on November 3, 2022 at the age of 84 He was born March 21, 1938. Many of you may not have had the privilege of meeting George. George was a long time member of the Kalamazoo Antique Bottle Club. He was often at the spring bottle shows, and I believe he served as club President for a couple terms. I can tell you this, you would have loved this man! He was a true gentleman and was respectful of everyone. A kind and gracious man. Both George MacLeod and Ernie Lawson were both a great encouragement to me and many others. This World cannot afford to lose many more men like this. Thank You George for your friendship. We have a FM station, which I believe originates in the Grand Rapids area, which goes by STAR 105.7 West Michigan’s Christmas Station. It really helps me get into the mood for Christmas. Christmas can lose much of it’s magic as you become adult, which I very recently did. When we lived in our first house, back when I was a toddler, in Plainwell, MI, 115 Cedar Street, to be exact. No, it’s not on Google Maps. The Plainwell Paper Mill bought up the whole neighborhood and destroyed many of the homes before the mill went out of business. If our little house was still there, you could give me a call, just dial up Murray-55-184. Hey, we even had a private line! On the show, I Love Lucy, whenever Lucy or Ricky Ricardo gave out their phone number, they'd say it as, "Murray 5-9975." So, anyway, it was Christmas Eve and our Christmas Tree was decorated and standing in front of the living room picture window. That window was a bay-window which my mother would decorate. On that that Christmas eve, it must have been 1954, I had crawled up on the bay window and was looking at the night sky. It was a clear-cold night and the smoke from the neighbor’s chimney was going straight up. The sky was loaded with bright stars. My father had just read the Christmas story and I was fascinated with that bright star which guided the three kings to Bethlehem. Then, I spotted something shooting across the night sky! Was it him? Was that a sleigh? I spotted? I told my parents with great excitement in my voice! “You better hurry and get up stairs to bed! He wont stop if you are awake!" We had already left him milk and cookies, so I was up the stairs in record time! Looking back today, with seven more siblings, maybe mom did kiss Santa that Christmas eve? Oh how much easier it was to be a kid! As an adult, I sure don’t care for being Santa. I wander around stores looking for something, and I don’t even know what that something is! You don’t want to disappoint . . . but it is inevitable. So, I spend more money, to buy more nonsense, with the hope something will be acceptable! By the time it is all “Wrapped” my credit card is too hot to touch! Maybe, by next Christmas, I will have some of that paid back! Honestly, is Christmas meant to be like this? My German Grandfather’s favorite Christmas song was “Little Drummer Boy” and I can almost hear him sing, “pa-rum-pum-pum-pum” in a way only he could. You may not be able to imagine this, but even with that short string, his German accent came through! The little drummer boy is not a character that appears in the Gospel, but It makes a beautiful point threaded throughout all of the Scripture. The Kings gifts that are mentioned, and they represent so much. Gold; the gift of gold represented Jesus as a king with an everlasting throne. It was a treasure befitting royalty, albeit royalty in the home of a young, poor family. The gift of Frankincense, is said to have been an acknowledgment of Jesus’ priesthood, setting him apart from a typical king. Frankincense was used in the temple routines, burned ceremonially by the priests. It was not native to that region, so obtaining frankincense from the east was very costly. This gift was precious in both meaning and value. Myrrh The most bittersweet of the gifts, Myrrh had been imported to Egypt in droves for embalming rituals, and the practice filtered out through the surrounding areas, and Myrrh was connected with death and burial. A disheartening gift for a new mother to hold, yet beautiful in light of her understanding of his purpose. Each of these gifts are beautiful, and rich with the symbolism worthy of the King of Kings. But each of these gifts were actually His anyway, as His role as creator. . . they are all His. But think of someone who cannot bring gifts of great value? What if you are simply a poor man and you can’t even play a drum! In the fictional song, The Little Drummer Boy, he finds himself, like the shepherds, without a worthwhile gift to present to the newborn King. But, what gift could anyone give to the creator of everything? One of my favorite Bible teachers, Dr J. Vernon McGee, remarked about the location of His birth, being in a barn stable. Could there have been a more filthy place to come into this world? But what is earth but a pig sty where men create filth and wallow in it? From the message, “Born of a Daughter of David” “Do you see that little baby in the stable? A stable, I know, is not befitting Him; that little baby who has the title to this universe! It is He who will rule this universe! Those baby hands will hold the scepter of this world in which you and I live. But those little baby hands, waving in every direction, are going to be nailed to a cross before He takes that scepter. You see that little baby’s brow? Just a little baby, that’s what He was. But, He will wear the crown of deity; He will wear the crown of God’s entire universe. But wait. That little brow will be pierced with a crown of thorns, put there for you and for me. Purple robes ought to grace those little shoulders, but before that purple robe, He must wear swaddling clothes and the seamless robe of a peasant. Those shoulders are going to bear the weight of a cross for you and me; His arms will be outstretched in salvation on that cross; those nail-scarred hands will one day be knocking at the door of men’s hearts. He who will hold the scepter of this universe will sit on the throne of David someday. But He will first sit in your place, and my place, a place of judgment for OUR sin, before He becomes the Judge of all the earth. Look at Him in the manger, He is King. Born a King. Lived a King. Died a King. Buried a King. Rose again a King. And this very day He is at God’s right hand a King. One of these days He is coming to earth a King.” So my dear friends, look about you. The supermarkets are groaning with their shelves laden down. The department stores are bulging with luxury items. The cash registers are giving out the “Christmas” chimes. Even churches will be filled this “Christmas Stuff.” What a contrast to a stable, poverty, lowliness. What obscurity. No one there but a few paltry shepherds, and a few wise men came. That’s all. At one point, I had reached a dark place in my life, where I thought I had been trying to please Him. But in all honesty, I was too busy trying to pull the pieces of my life together . . . to even be thinking of Him. The harder I tried picking up the pieces, the more pieces would fall off. Everything I wanted to be . . . I was slowly losing. I had failed as a grandson, a son, a husband and a father, I had even lost my own father . . . I reached the point of being completely empty. Finally I reached the point where I had apologized to God, sorry that I had nothing to offer Him. I told him if there is anything left (I didn't think there was, I was empty handed) anything that you want, please take it, I am finished. After all my trying, I finally found out what He really wanted . . . my heart, my love, my devotion. For once I knew I had pleased Him with my emptiness. And, I cannot even play drums. I brought to Him nothing! And yet I gained everything. That is my prayer for you. Don’t wait till you hit bottom before looking up. May the "God of
Christmas" bless you!
Have a Merry Christmas! Our theme this month
is Christmas Collectibles
Bottles, Lights, Candles, Advertising Items, Santa Items! The Kalamazoo Antique Bottle Club Will be meeting December 13th at
the Otsego area Historical Society
Museum at 7:00, located at 218 N. Farmer St. Otsego, MI 49078 meeting starts at 7:00 pm. For questions e-mail: prostock@net-link.net Or call  HOME |