Secrets of the Bayou!

Somehow..somewhere..there are always secrets. Secrets of a past that have not been brought to light or have been long forgotten. The Bayou is no different. There are secrets. I have lived here seemingly forever and still have not learned much of the past of the Bayou. It holds its secrets well. Lately though, it has been revealing them..one at a time. Secrets. Mementos of long ago..of someone's life..perhaps a relative..perhaps not. Several days ago, I was near the marsh edge when a glimmer caught my eye. Something glass was being washed clean by the tide. A bottle! I grabbed the boat hook and fished the treasure from the mud. Ahh...a milk jar! A half pint milk jar to be exact! This did not really surprise me as I have pulled several from the mud in the past few months. My grandparents owned a dairy near this the Bayou years ago. Perhaps this was one of their bottles. It stands to reason that with six sons, one of them most likely went fishing or hunting and toted along a jar of milk. So the milk jars, though exciting to find, probably can be explained. I wash each one and proudly display them on the shelf. My collection is now nearing twenty assorted milk jars ranging from half pints to half gallons..and the collection is still growing! Two of these milk jars have words molded on them..one says "Bordon Weiland" and the other says (and this is my favorite!) "A Bottle of Milk is a Bottle of Health". Something I do find rather strange is that although there are several different types of milk jars, most of them have the date of 1/11/14 molded on the bottom rim. I will keep trying to discover the history behind the milk jars!

Today..the glimmer again caught my eye! Another milk bottle!..or so I thought! I grabbed my boat hook and set to work! This one was in the shallows so I could reach it much easier. Once I cleared the marsh grass back away from it, I realized this was not milk bottle. At first, I was a mite disappointed. I thought perhaps someone tossed a soda bottle in my Bayou. How dare they??? Then when I had it in my grasp, I made the discovery that this, too, was an older bottle. I had no idea how old, just old. It is in the process of being cleaned for further inspection, but I did manage to read the marks on the bottom..a connected AB followed by R 5. The bottle is 9 1/2 inches tall and a beautiful pale aqua color. Now, to do a bit of sleuthing. I was given several informative websites to delve into as soon as the bottle is clean. If I make a grand discovery that my bottle is worth a fortune that will be another post. Chances are..it is not worth anything..except to me and my journey into the history of the Bayou. The secrets are there..I just have to unearth them!