By: Holland McGraw

As the sun was setting Boo’s pedal was fluttering. He would grow weak and just before puttering out regain strength and continue to roll down the highway. It was on the outskirts of Portland I stopped at an auto parts store and purchased a fire extinguisher. I wanted to ensure we did not meet the same fate as the man Texan and his red bug.

I had been anticipating Portland’s numerous narrow bridges and highway over passes that leapfrog over rivers and other bridges with little room for vehicles in distress. The first overpass I had to overcome reaches up into the sky as if it’s the beginning of a rollercoaster. I charged pressing the peddle to the floor in an effort to gain speed and momentum. At 60miles per hour Boo began to shake. At 70 he was shaking, rattling and making a sound WOOB…WOOOB…WOOOB…WOOOOB…

As Boo climbed the overpass he began to struggle and his engine skipped like a prop airplane in distress…Brrrrp….Brrrrrp….Brrrrrrp. With modern cars passing by at high rates of speed I felt like a jockey ridding a mule in the Kentucky Derby.

Reaching the crest of the overpass Boo floated over its rounded top as if we were silently gliding over the city of Portland with its glowing lights that reflected from the rivers below. The victory was short lived as we headed down Boo stalled. In angst I turned the key and pumped the gas and got Boo to turnover. To no avail I soon found myself on the narrow shoulder of an over pass.

Boo barely fit between the white line and concrete wall that keeps cars and things from falling below. The constant wind from automobiles and commercial trucks caused Boo to waver like a blade of prairie grass in the afternoon breeze.

I got out, went around back and lifted the hood. Again, the clear fuel filter had little fuel in it. There is something causing fuel restriction I thought. I sat on the curb and waited. I then got the starter fluid from the passenger seat, took the oil filter off and sprayed the fluid into the carburetor. I then ran to the front and turned the ignition….VRRROOOMMM said Boo shaking and rattling. I put the oil filter back on, let Boo idle a bit, waited for an opening as cars whizzed by and when I saw space…we were gone.

Down the overpass, over the bridges and across the Washington State line a feeling of tranquility set over me as I hugged the slow lane. It was just before the town of Castle Rock that Boo died. The gas gage dial was in the red marked with an R for reserve. It made me wonder if Boo was suffering from his recurring condition, or if the gas dial was inaccurate. I called roadside assistance and after a bit a tow truck arrived.

He was a young heavyset rosy-cheeked guy. A country kid with dark features, cowboy boots and dressed in overalls. I told the driver, “My bug more than likely just needs gas. I just bought it and I’m not sure how accurate the gauge is.”

He loaded Boo and drove me a few miles down the road to a gas station. I told him he should wait to see if I could get him started before leaving.

I filled up and turned the key. Boo came to life and the tow driver raised his hand to say goodbye. I didn’t get more than a mile down the road when Boo died. With every unanswered turn of the key my vision of driving Boo home and into my driveway began to fade. Again I called roadside assistants who told me that this would be my last service call. I assured them it was the only one I would need, as they would have to tow me home, a distance that was just under my 200-mile limit.

An hour later the same young man who towed me to the gas station was now towing me home. We got to talking and he told me he went to school and was certified as a diesel mechanic, but was unable to find work. He now filled his days and nights as a salaried tow truck driver for a wage that I cannot remember, but seemed criminal after hearing the number of hours he had to work. He drove both day and night at the ring of his phone and slept in shifts except for his two days off where he slept most of the 48 hours.

He explained the differences of a diesel engine compared to a gasoline engine.

“A diesel engine gets better mileage, requires less maintenance and lasts longer than a car that uses regular gasoline.”

“What’s the down side?” I asked.

“Well, the parts for a diesel engine can be twice as much compared to a petrol engine. Consumer vehicles, well heck a lot of people getting a new car every couple years, so diesel engine wouldn’t do’em any good.”

With all of the buzz in the media about a need for Americans to go to trade schools so they can become mechanics or nurses among other professions that are deemed useful in today’s economy, there I sat next to a certified diesel mechanic who made a living as a tow truck driver.

“Funny, I got my Masters in Library Science because of all the jobs that were said to be in that field. When I graduated the only job I found was as a transcriptionist. I worked next to a guy who was a registered nurse that couldn’t find a job in the field. When he did find a job as a nurse, he had to re-enlist in the Navy to get it.”

“Man oh man,” he said. “You always hear those nursing commercials, man oh man. Don’t stop talking to me, it keeps me awake.” So I told him some of the greatest stories that have never been told.

“Did you know that the modern bottle and light bulb are related?“

“No I didn’t, how’s that?”

“In the later part of the 19^th Century Thomas Edison had a contract with Corning Glass to make light bulbs. Well the workers at Corning went on strike and Libbey Glass House was hired to make the light bulbs. Libbey, the owner of Libbey Glass put a man named, Michael Owens, in charge of production. Well, Owens, seeing the light bulb making process had an idea, he created a small machine to simplify the work and speedup the process. He named the machine, “The Dummy.”

“Why did they name it, “The Dummy?” asked the driver.

“Because, “The Dummy” took the skill out of making the light bulb and enabled Libbey to hire les-skilled labor at a lower wage while at the same time increasing the production of light bulbs.”

“Dang, less for more, that’s profit right there,” said the driver.

“You’re right,” I replied. “Have you ever seen a cartoon where a character gets an idea and a light bulb goes off above its head?” I asked.

“Sure, I love Looney Tunes.”

“Well, “The Dummy,” gave Libbey an idea. It showed him that by implementing new technology to replace workers and increasing production, he could make more than profit…he could monopolize an industry.

With, “The Dummy” in mind, Libby created a separate business Toledo Glass Works for one reason: to make machines for the exploitation of glass. It was there that Michael Owens created the automatic bottle machine that enabled Libby to monopolize the glass industry.”

“How did they monopolize it?”

“Well, the automatic bottle machine was the key. After creating the automatic bottle machine, Libbey created another business, Owens Bottle Company, which had the ability to create and sell bottles at a price lower than their competitors. They then leased the automatic bottle machines out to different bottle companies only to later purchase the majority or controlling stock in those same companies.”

“So they were able to do all that with a bottle machine…huh?” Said the driver.

“Did you know that our war with Japan in WWII could be explained with a bottle?”

“No,” said the driver.

“Well, it can. In Japan they used a bottle that is referred to as a Ramune bottle; but the true name of the Ramune bottle is a Codd Bottle. It is named after the inventor, Hiram Codd, who is English; but I believe the bottle best represents the country Japan.”

“Why would an English bottle represent Japan?”

“Well, you see, the Codd Bottle is different than any other bottle you’ve ever seen. It’s designed around a marble, which is used as a seal that can be broken and resealed over and over…sigh…and over again. The United States stopped using the Codd Bottle in the 1930’s.”

The driver asked, “Well, why did they stop using it?”

“There were a couple reasons. The first reason is it was difficult to sterilize. The second reason is kids were breaking the bottles to get the marble out instead of redeeming them. So, little by little beverage companies replaced their Codd Bottles with bottles that use bottle caps.

Interesting thing about Japan is they didn’t have the luxury to solely use the crown cork cap and toss bottle cap because steel is expensive and Japan is a small island with few natural resources. They needed something that could be reused over and over again.

So, the use of the Codd Bottle in Japan helps us to understand their expansion in the 30’s into other countries for natural resources, which turned into what we know today as World War II.

But you know what the really interesting thing about World War II was?

“Well all of the battles and stuff?” exclaimed the driver.

“Yeah, well there is that, but another interesting fact about World War II is it is where the United States first began using disposable bottles, which was the beginning of disposable packaging in the US. With the defeat of Japan the Codd Bottle not only remained in Japan, it evolved.”

“What do you mean by it evolving?”

“It changed from a glass top that was difficult to sterilize to a plastic top where the top could be taken off the bottle, the bottle cleaned and replaced.

But do you want to know what is even more amazing than that?”

“Sure, What.”

“Well, remember how I told you kids in the US would break Codd Bottles to play with the marbles?”

“Yeah, I remember that.”

“Well, the playing of marbles in Japan started at the same time as the use of the Codd bottle in Japan. Kids in Japan were breaking bottles to play with the marbles just like the kids in the US. So, in the end, regardless of how different we look we’re all the same. The Codd Bottle taught us that.”

Talk and tales of bottles, bottle caps and other things considered trivial, simple, nothingness went on until about 4:00AM. The driver let out a yawn as we rolled up to my house. As he unloaded Boo in the driveway, I told him he could use the bathroom and sleep on my sofa if he needed to take a powernap.

“Thanks,” he replied, “but I need to head back. I enjoyed the bottle talk.”

As he pulled out of the driveway a hot sun was rising over a hill in the East. Boo sat in the driveway as I walked in the house and crawled in bed with my wife and dogs where I fell into a deep sleep.

To be continued.

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This conceptual art piece was inspired by my uncle, Doc, who unknowingly taught me the difference between a modern consumer and consumer from the past, but that story is for another time and can be found in my book, “Modern Fossils.”

This story focuses on, Ginger ale.  Some say it’s an Irish drink, others say it’s English.  Regardless of its origin they made a lot of it in Ireland and the British scattered these Irish ginger ale bottles around the world.  Ginger ale was packaged and sold in elongated bottles with round bottoms, to insure they were stored and shipped lying down.

I’ve heard different speculations as to the reason for the round-bottom bottles, the best being, “They were made during the Civil War and insured they didn’t tip-over and break due to cannon fire.” I know, that story sounds really great, but the truth is the design of the round bottom bottle is a reflection of the enclosure system and the need for the cork to stay wet, so that the enclosure will stay secure.

It’s said that bottles like my round bottom, “Belfast,” bottle were used for more than ginger ale, they were used as ballast.  During the British Empire, empty British ships sailing from British ports put weight in the hull of their ships for stability and then dumped it at foreign ports prior to loading their cargo.  Years of dumping and loading has resulted in Irish round bottom ginger ale bottles being found in different countries around the world.

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Glass beach is exactly as it sounds, a beach filled with glass.  It’s located in Fort Bragg, a small town in Northern California where they threw their trash into the ocean one day and watched it roll upon the beach the next.

Packaging was a bit different back in the sea dump days at Fort Bragg.  Garbage was mainly comprised of glass and tin.  Some of the larger steel car parts and springs lay scattered upon the beach while others have found their way into rock

formations and will one day become, “Modern Fossils.” The tin has since dissolved and the glass has not.  The glass is so thick you can dig-a-dig…dig and see nothing but green, red, blue, yellow and clear glass that has been frosted and smoothed through years of friction from changing tides.

Some of the glass pieces have been deemed valuable based on the color and shape.  Perceived value is a funny thing, it encourages some people to take interest in something that they once believed worthless. People comb the beach like gold prospectors from California’s past looking for glass that they’ve been told is valuable.

Glass from the beach has found its way into different pockets over the years a piece at a time and the local government now fears that the glass will one day be gone ending one of the towns tourist attractions, broken glass from the trash.

The Fort Bragg sea dumps ended in 1967 and we have since fallen into a plastic age where cars, radios, tv’s, chairs, tables, toys, tools, utensils, glasses and bottles are primarily made of plastic.  Today, when a plastic bottle enters the ocean like the glass bottles of the past, they no longer breakup and roll onto the beach, but flake off and release toxic chemicals that harm sea life and is later consumed by us, humans. (Barry, 2009)

It seems that in our attempt to progress, we have digressed and I believe it is time to look to the past and use a packaging material that is primarily made of sand…glass.

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These bottles are from the past, but if you understand their significance they tell a story that takes place in the future.  I recently started digging in an old Seattle dump with a friend, Niel.  The dump is from the 30’s and gives insight to our past.  We tend to find more whisky bottles than anything.  Most of the whisky bottles are embossed with the words, “FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE OR RE-USE OF THIS BOTTLE.”  Bottles marked with these words are referred to as prohibition bottles.  The reference to the whisky bottles as Prohibition bottles sends a persons imagination soaring with images of speak easys, fedora hooded gangsters and flappers, but the truth of the matter is these bottles were made for use from 1932-1964, just one year before prohibition was repealed.  The embossing wasn’t mandatory under federal law until January 1, 1935.  So, the image of the fedora-hooded gangster could really be a Beatles crazed lady screaming for John and Paul. With that in mind, most of the bottles we’ve recovered are primarily from the 1940’s with the exceptions of a few holdover whisky and beer bottles from the 1920’s, which brings up a question you might be asking yourself, why are there whiskey bottles being made and distributed in the U.S. throughout prohibition?  A quick answer, the Volstead Act. There were three provisions that allowed for the consumption of alcohol under the Volstead Act:

1. Sacramental purposes.
2. If you lived on a farm you could make Hard Cider or home made wine.
3. Medicinal Alcohol that could be obtained with a prescription from a doctor.

Provision number 3 in the Volstead Act brings us to a popular movie that just came out, “The Great Gatsby,” which was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s.  The Great Gatsby made his fortune in Drug Stores that fulfilled Dr. prescribed alcohol to patients.  It was prohibition and alcohol of the past that built the Drug Stores of today. Prohibition was the foundation on which the Walgreens Drug store was built.  Some people might try to persuade you that it was Walgreen’s invention of the milkshake that made them a success, but I believe Mr. Gatsby would tell you otherwise. After the repeal of prohibition, whisky bottles were sold in large supersized bottles to quench the thirst of the masses.  Shortly after prohibition was repealed Washington State created the Washington State Liquor Control Board that monitored the distribution of alcohol tallying a profit of eight million six hundred thousand dollars…this is 1936 dollars we’re talking about. Some of the bottles we’ve dug have both the “FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE OR RE-USE OF THIS BOTTLE,” and Washington State Liquor Control Board embossed on the bottles.  The justification for the Washington State Control Board was that, with the repeal of prohibition, the public was out of control.  The state government emphasized that alcohol needs to be regulated in order to protect children and citizens in the community. I found this information interesting because alcohol both during and post prohibition has taken the same road into the public as marijuana is taking today. Among the whiskey bottles, we’ve found glass prescription bottles, cosmetic jars, coffee Jars, cottage cheese jars, ketchup bottles, milk bottles, beer bottles, cocktail mixers, local soda bottles, spoons made in Nevada, saucer made in West Virginia, tea cup made in Japan,  a steel cup made in Sweden, medical instruments, children’s toys, pieces of jadeite kitchenware, rubber sols and much more. While digging in the old Seattle dump I found that bottles and Items from the past act as different windows to view the past present and future…DIG IT!

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