The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-04-29
EMPTY BOTTLES.
The Foundation Of This woman's
Fortune, Which is 100000.
Boston Globe.)

Fortune, Which is 100000.
Boston Globe)
The money with which 1 built those
| two houses was made by selling empty
bottles on the east side of New York
City. 1t was a long time ago when 1
first came to this country. I'll tell you
about it. if you don't print my name.
Not that 1 object to having my
name IN the papers, but it's my chill
| dren l have to think of these days.
! One is the president of q big bank out
west, another owns barrel factory in
Jersey, while my three daugnLers are all
married and live in fine houses uptown
So you see 1 don't want to make them
| ashamed of their old mothers Dragging.
As L said, II was long time ago,
/ for Pm getting on to so years of age.
TO begin at the beginning. my nus
1 band and l sailed from Ireland the day
after We were married. We'd heard fine
| tales of America, and we came over TO
make our fortunes We had but a few
! pennies when we landed. and besides
/ our bundle of clothes and the few cook
| ing things we'd use on the voyage, I'd
picked up two empty bottles that some
| of the other passengers had thrown
away. We didn't have bottles TO throw
i AWAY in the old country, so it came kind
| of natural 10 me not TO want 10 see
! them wasted.
| My husband got a job as a mason,
| and l got a place as second cook in a
/ restaurant. II made me open my eyes
| the way they threw things away in that
! kitchen. Empty bottles were hauled
( away in carloads along with the rest
! OF the refuse, until by and by got 10
/ picking them out and taking them home
nights L was only at that place SIX
months, but during that time 1 saved
up something like 500 beautiful bottles.
Then as my husbands work was
steady and the pay good, came home
i 70 keep house for him and had time 10
| think of my bottles. 1t seemed such a
I shame to throw them away, yet l
| didn't see what was to be done in
! country where everybody got rid Of
| them as soon as they were empty. After
a While I decided TO try and sell them
TO the places from which they were
originally bought.
/ Many were wine bottles, SO I went
/ to wine merchant and -old him of my
| lot. He looked at me for a while, then
/ he examined my bottle, and said if they
were all as clean as that he would buy
the lot, but he'd rather 1 brought him
/ corkS TO sell, as cOrks were harder 10
/ get than bottles.
| Il delivered TO him all the wine bot
/ ties L had saved, then went around to
/ the restaurant 10 see my old friend, the
cook. He agreed to save me as many
| corks and bottles as possible, provided
l would take them off every day. So l
/ used to go every morning and bring
| away baskets full washed the bottles
/ and boiled the cOrks, and once a week
/ delivered them TO the wine merchant
Then made ny trip to the savings
/ bank, where 1 stored away my earn
/ ings.
/ las time passed became more am
/ bilious, and went about to other res
! taurants and TO other merchants. in
! that way increasing my business I
/ hired boy 10 fetch and carry for me,
] and between times, when attending TO
/ my children or busy about the house
l cleaned the bottles and corks. This
went on until 1 had saved up several
/ hundred dollars. The day that my
I youngest girl was three weeks old they
/ brought my husband home dead A
/ scanOiding had given away
Those were dark times for me, but I
had my children to look after All lit
tie fellows, just big enough TO hold on
to my skirts. They might have taken
1 the spirit out Of some women, but they
gave me heart to work and I made up
my mind to buy and sell all the empty
/ bottles in this town. And Tn tell you
my dear, l very nearly did it I bought
| a morse and wagon, and, with my ED
/ est son, 1 visited every restaurant in
( the city and took away their bottles and
! corks. Some Of them charged US, but
the majority were only too glad to have
/ them taken off.
Then I not only sold to wine mer-
I chants, but TO every dealer where bot
| ties were used. Druggists were good
| customers when we could suit them in
| sizes, and many were willing to send
for the bottles, instead Of having me
cart them.
| Did 1 only have one horset Bless
| you, no. had six, when, alas, the beer
and other bottling combines, realizing
! the value of empty bottles, put an end
to my business by offering to buy their
| own bottles back again. But it was I
| who taught them to do Il. I've always
! said if L hadn't begun TO save and sell
empty bottles that the street cleaners
of New York would have twice as much
| work 70 do.
1T wasn't harder work than any
| other business When the bottles were
brought in they had TO be cleaned and
/ turned to drain, then sorted as to size
color and shape. Later they were pack
/ ed and delivered. Having beer freshly
emptied, the cleaning was not difficult
4 seldom needing anything beyond hot
soap and water Ny children soon
| LOoi lASU 70 HSip anu AFTER a Few years
i turned the management of the horses
and drivers over to my eldest son. That
/ is the way he got his business training
When 1 gave up the business I'd
/ about educated all my children. and
was paying taxes on S35, Geo worth of
real estate. Since then New York prop
erty has gone up pretty high. and now
people tell me my two tenement houses
are worth near about 500 ,0Od. They
] a IA, Z
sum TO lay by for my grandchildren
L m real sorry the brewers have broke
up the trade, for empty bottles was a
good business for q woman who had a
family OF smart children to help her"