Ideas...

by Jim Scruggs, Student Western Illinois University

Do you want to make an easy $10,000 for a special project in your parks? The Champaign Park District has initiated a project to make this $10,000 but it will take one hundred years. Park District officials felt it might just be worth waiting for, however, and they proceeded to collect and bury over 600 glass bottles.

The idea of burying the glass bottles was suggested by Commissioner William Helms. Mr. Helms pointed out that within a few years we will be operating with the metric system and there will be no more bottles measured in ounces or quarts. This fact alone should make the bottles very valuable one hundred years from now.

In proceeding with the project, Champaign Park District staff initiated a three-pronged effort to obtain bottles. Letters were written to bottle manufacturers throughout the country and many of the companies responded by sending special bottles. Many commemorative bicentennial bottles were sent by the bottle manufacturers. One company, Anchor Hocking of Gurney, Illinois, sent two special representatives to be present when the bottles were buried.

Champaign Park District Commissioners help to bury the bottles. From left to right: Patricia Leonhard, president; William Helms; Harold Manley, Anchor Hocking Glass Co.; and Morgan Powell.

In an effort to obtain at least one bottle of every type sold in Champaign in 1977, local soft drink and beer distributors were contacted. They responded with a sample of every bottle they handle. In some cases they also contributed antique bottles they had on hand.

The final effort was to encourage local citizens to donate bottles. A special contest was set up for this purpose and each donor was encouraged to write a message to place in the bottle. Over two hundred bottles were donated by local citizens and a local antique dealer donated over fifty bottles.

Once the bottles were collected they were prepared for burial. Large bottles were filled with sand and all bottles were wrapped in a plastic bag. Special kiln fired chips were prepared and marked in numbers 1 to 500 and one of these was placed with each bottle for identification purposes. A record for each bottle was kept listing the chip number, the bottle type and the donor. Bottles that were painted or contained a biodegradable product, including metal tops, were dipped in hot wax for better preservation. The bottles were placed in large plastic barrels filled with sand and buried in a hole that also was filled with sand and covered with concrete.

In addition to future value of the bottles, the project created a lot of local interest. Local newspapers and television stations were very supportive of the program providing excellent coverage.

All in all the project was a lot of fun for the Park District staff and the success should be realized on November 9, 2077, when the bottles are dug up and sold in an auction to the highest bidders.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 6 January/February, 1978