7 minute read
Nebraska Sodas, Digging, and a Great New Book
The author, Tom Askjem, proudly holds a copy of his new book, Nebraska Soda Bottles.
Kool! And here is the whole story behind them
Reviewed by Ralph Finch
“Ralph, please evaluate this book. It’s on Nebraska soda bottles.” Darn. I hate this. Sure, I’ve done it before, several times before, actually, but I’m always nervous. See, I’m an old newspaper man, and despite what the orange guy in the White House says, I’ve never imagined “fake news.” Always, it was the search of truth.
Sadly, many hobby books have been published by collectors who had a plan, but with no idea and no skill to make the results worth anyone’s interest, or money, or worth cutting down a tree to make wood pulp for paper. Many were too boring to be readable. Of course, there are those books that have become classics, must-haves in the libraries of any serious collector.
This book stands out. OK, so here we go. First: I know nothing about Nebraska. It’s somewhere in the middle of nowhere, reachable by Conestoga wagons. So I decided to Google it just to get a little background information.
Wikipedia revealed: Nebraska was admitted as the 37th state in 1867. Hmmmm. There must be old bottles. And “Kool-Aid was created in 1927 by Edwin Perkins in the city of Hastings, which celebrates the event the second weekend of every August with Kool-Aid Days, and Kool-Aid is the official soft drink of Nebraska.” Double hmmmmm. The book under our focus today is Nebraska Soda Bottles, 1865-1930, by Tom Askjem of Buxton, North Dakota. (Buxton, FYI, has a population of 323 people, including Tom.) Of his publication, Tom noted, it “is meant to be a history book, a reference book, and an identification guide.” And, thank goodness, it is readable!
In it, we discover this about Tom: “I started digging and collecting bottles behind my parents’ 1898 farmhouse outside of Buxton.” Tom began digging privies at the age of 14. He is now 28 years old. “I mainly collect early soda bottles from the Dakotas and surrounding states. I also collect wagons, buggies and sleighs from the homestead era. I’ve got one wagon that still has the original paint on it, including the pinstripe design on the spokes.”
I asked the obvious question: Does he own a Conestoga wagon? Tom explained: “My dream has always been to find an original covered wagon for my collection. I’ve asked some historians in the area about them. It seems around here most of the covered wagons that carried the homesteaders in were simply farm wagons that were renovated for cross-country travel. They were then likely turned back into farm wagons after the homesteaders reached their destination.” On the bottles, Tom noted: “The earliest embossed sodas bottled from Nebraska are from the bottling works of Ed. C. Erfling. He started his bottling works in in Omaha City, in Nebraska Territory, in 1865. This book covers everything from that point up to 1930, and is meant to be a history book, a reference book, and an identification guide.”
And the G. Heimrod & Co. bottles date from 1869-74. “His bottles come in aqua, dark amber (nearly black glass) and ‘straw yellow.’ I believe there are roughly five of the dark amber blobs known and only one intact in ‘straw yellow.’ I was told there were some broken pieces of other straw yellow ones found, though.”
“There are maybe five Erflings known. I believe they may be the only Nebraska sodas that could date back to Territorial times. Though they aren’t embossed with ‘Territory,’ the bottles are very crude. Ed bottled from 1865-69.”
The book lists 187 companies from 69 towns both large and small, but Tom adds: “I do not believe there are any ghost-town sodas known from Nebraska.” There are 321 full-color, high-quality images of bottles in the book. Nearly every bottle was photographed in a photography studio by a professional photographer. There were countless hours put into this book.
“Not including photography time, phone time and travel time back and forth from North Dakota to Nebraska, I figure I have over 1,000 hours just into research. Even though the bottles were photographed against a white background, I had to go into Photoshop and cut each bottle out, eliminating the background. It took about 15-20 minutes per bottle in the beginning, though I learned some techniques and got it down to about 3-5 minutes per bottle.”
Tom also tallies 42 flavors and brands found in Nebraska. Among my favorite flavors: Banana Champagne, Crab Apple Cider, and Pear Cider. (But no mention of Kool-Aid!)
Your reviewer’s favorite brand? Little Daisy. Tom explained: “I wish I knew more about ‘Little Daisy.’ I imagine it was a brand, though I’m not sure. It was advertised at George Burgess’s Bottling Works in Arapahoe.”
He also admitted that there is no reference to Nebraska’s connection with KoolAid. “I actually didn’t know about it although – unless it was before 1930 – I likely wouldn’t have mentioned it. I only wanted to cover up to 1930, based mostly off of my interests.”
And how are sodas doing? Tom admits that “the Nebraska bottle market is a bit soft in spots, though there are some bottles that I consider to have ‘national appeal.’ Prices range from $10-$20 for some common crown tops, up to thousands for some of the earliest blob tops. In my opinion, the best bottles in the book are from Ed. C. Erfling and from G. Heimrod & Co.”
OK, while Tom is king of Nebraska sodas, what else does he do? He explains: “I’m a full-time digger when the weather allows. I’ve been digging 100-150 privies per year. I figure I’ve dug roughly 1,100 since I was about 14. I still live on the family farm where I dug my first privy. I don’t have any kids and my car is paid
for, so I don’t have much overhead cost, allowing me to dig full time when the ground isn’t frozen around here. I’ve traveled to warmer areas in the winter to dig, though lately I’ve taken the down-time to work on bottle books. I have a North Dakota soda book that should be finished by spring.
“I’ve dug bottles in eight different states, literally from coast to coast. I’ve dug privies from Cape-style houses of Eastport, Maine, to an abandoned California gold rush camp. I spent part of a winter digging Galveston, Texas. My main focus though, is the Dakotas. When I dig the Dakotas, I can usually stay within a reasonable driving distance from home. Anything further than a couple hours away I’ll camp if the weather isn’t too cold.
“While on digging trips, I’ve camped in downpouring rain, I’ve camped with near in-line winds, where the pop-up tent was literally blown down flat on top of me. I’ve also camped without being able to shower for days, waking up with dirt clods on my pillow from my hair.
“The deepest I’ve dug is about thirty feet. The pit turned out to be an old homestead well. The deepest privy I’ve dug is about twelve feet. This is a picture of me in one of the deepest privies I’ve dug. It was behind an early 1870s Victorian in South Dakota. It was found-brick in shape, though was loaded with night soil and bottomed out around twelve feet.”
And, now the bottom line. I liked the book. Well done, Tom, well done.
r
Editor’s note: The book, hard-bound with 111 pages and glossy paper, can be purchased for $65, with free shipping. PayPal or a check by mail is fine. Tom says: “My Paypal is Thomas.Askjem@gmail.com.” Checks can be mailed to Tom Askjem, 16813 16th St. NE, Buxton, ND 58218. For more information, contact thomas. Askjem@gmail.com; his phone number is 701-864-0126.
PHOTOS: PREVIOUS PAGE:
TOP: “This is a picture of me in one of the deepest privies I’ve dug. It was behind an early 1870s Victorian home in South Dakota. It was found with bricks in shape, though it was loaded with nightsoil and bottomed out around 12 feet.” BOTTOM: Tom poses with “one of my wagons. This is not the one with all original paint, though. The all-original is in the back of my parents’ pole barn with a lot of vehicles and other stuff surrounding it.
THIS PAGE:
TOP: Tom explains: “I imagine (‘Little Daisy’ ) was a brand, though am not sure. It was advertised at George Burgess’s Bottling Works in Arapahoe.” BOTTOM LEFT: The Heimrod bottles date from 1869-1874. They’re the second earliest type of Nebraska soda. The “straw yellow” example is the only intact example known, “though pieces of others have been found,” Tom explains. BOTTOM RIGHT: There are roughly five Erfling sodas known. “They’re the earliest Nebraska sodas and date back from 1865-1869,” says Tom.
