by Ethan S. Fogg
Colorful and versatile, many older bottles and jars remain in service for generations, whether for home canning, dry good storage or just for decoration. They’re easy to clean and handy for reuse in the kitchen, basement and garden.
It seems that collectible bottles and jars have always been in the corners and cabinets of my life. Growing up in Fayette, I remember my mother spending long hot days every summer steeping glass mason jars in boiling water then filling them with a mélange of seasonal fruit for our family to enjoy all winter. In a north-facing kitchen window, she kept a small collection of decorative bottles and jars – that had been her mother’s – in shades of green, blue and brown. In the old smokehouse in our backyard, my father kept a variety of old glass jars filled with screws and nails and other bits of life in the country.
People who scavenge for bottles and jars know that one man’s trash is in fact another man’s treasure. Some of my best finds have been unearthed from the kitchen gardens of historic homes and in long-defunct rural dump sites. Before the days of municipal landfills, most people burned or buried their trash. Unlike metals, wood and other organic materials, glass often survives in the ground, unscathed for decades, waiting to be discovered!
The various shapes, colors and logos pictured here speak to the number of small businesses that once sold “snake oil” or milk or whiskey (or actually made bottles) in communities like Geneva, Clifton Springs and Clyde. In contrast with wooden and cardboard packaging from the same period, the durability and functional appeal of glass kept businesses’ signature bottles and jars in kitchens and basements and antique shops long after the companies themselves closed up shop.
In contrast with the photographs and tableware and disused keys we’ve discussed in recent editions, old bottles and jars remain uniquely serviceable in modern life. They don’t leach or absorb chemicals, they don’t fade in direct light, they tolerate extreme temperatures and they look great doing it!
For the most devoted friends of repurposing glass bottles and jars, there are now retailers that encourage patrons to bring their own containers when purchasing dry goods or cleaning items, hence reducing and diverting waste. They’re easy to sterilize, they’re surprisingly durable and they make your pantry into a feast for the eyes!
Keeping matters. Whether it’s for sentimental reasons, an aesthetic motivation, a belief in recycling or the desire to honor something passed down thru your family, thoughtfully conserving items like old bottles and jars is keeping at its finest. Yet, if the bottles and jars you find literally rattling around your kitchen, garage or basement have reached the end of their usefulness, consider passing them on to other keepers. Donate them. Box them for a yard sale. Give them to that certain someone who once said, “Gosh, those are pretty…”
