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The iPunty Rod Internet Newsletter Of The Little Rhody Bottle Club December 2000 This page is updated around the 1st week of every month The LRBC will hold it's annual Christmas party on Tuesday, December 12th at the HomeTown Buffet, 1245 Bald Hill Road (Rte. 2) in Warwick. Cost is $5.00 per person. Please be there by 6:30 pm. Club News Mike DeCiantis - July, 2000 I recently found out that we lost two of our club members this year, one in the summer and another in October. Mike DeCiantis, collector of old milk bottles and retired co-owner of the DeCiantis Bros. Dairy passed away in July. Mike was a popular figure at the club's show and attended many of the meetings. He was a WWII Army veteran and was active in many civic organizations. Mike began delivering milk while still in high school but never liked school and left after junior high. "How would you like to go to school when you have to get up at 2 a.m. to deliver milk?" he said. Eventually he and his brothers bought Potter's Dairy and delivered milk from the rumble seat of their Chevy. The business began in 1941 and thrived through the 40's and 50's. As time progressed, more and more people opted to get their milk from supermarkets rather than from home delivery. The DeCiantis accounts dwindled slowly until the last were sold to East Greenwich Dairy in 1984. I don't think there are too many people in RI who haven't heard of the DeCiantis Dairy and a many of us had the privelege of knowing not only one of the founders of that dairy but a genuinely nice person.   Archie Calise - October, 2000 Many of you in the club and throughout the bottle collecting hobby know the name Archie Calise. I am saddened to report that Archie passed away in October after a long illness. I'm not going to take anything from the paper but instead want to tell how I met Archie and subsequently came to respect this knowledgable man. When Dave Stamp and I first became interested in bottle collecting, we went every Sunday to as many flea markets and yards sales as we could, usually not returning home until very late afternoon. One of the people we met very early on in our collecting jaunts was Archie. He would set up a table full of miscellaneous bottles nearly every weekend at Rocky Hill Flea Market and if you stopped and looked at what he had on his table he would pick up a bottle and give you a mini history lesson on the bottle and the company it was from. Basically, he would trap you and not let you go. Dave and I would always stop by and see what goodies Archie had brought and after a time we found it harder and harder to leave his table. Archie loved to talk and loved to tell you everything about the bottles you were interested in. He would get so involved that after we had known him for a while he would actually follow us, still talking, as we walked away from his table. He would just up and leave everything and walk away! And not for a short distance, either. Sometimes he would follow us and continue talking until we had gotten into the next row of spaces! The man would go out of his way to educate you on bottles and their history. Dealing and selling were secondary and I believe not very important to him. Unfortunately, I didn't appreciate his efforts until many years later. As all of us know, when you first get into bottle collecting, that's what you do. Collect. Everything. The history and learning comes later. It was because of Archie that I found out about the bottle club and after a couple of years decided to join. Archie was the same at the meetings as he was at the flea market. Always ready with a story or a history lesson and always with something to say. When I took over the newsletter duties from Ted Baldwin in the late 1980's, it was mostly Archie who supplied me with research and stories. He would spend countless hours in the bowels of the Providence Public Library checking old business directories, looking for ads and dates of companies, products they sold, anything related to Rhode Island bottles. He continued to supply me when I took over the task of putting together our book. Almost all of the information found in the Research Section of Antique Bottles Of Rhode Island is from his efforts. Even after his health began to deteriorate, he would still try to make it to the meetings and bring what information he could and I don't really think there are too many of us who know the real contribution this man made to the club and the hobby. A few years ago it became difficult for Archie to make it to the meetings and his trips to do research also ended. Around the same time it also became difficult for me to make it to the meetings but I continued to work on the book, adding the research that Archie had supplied me with. The work continues on the online book and eventually there will be a research section full of the information that Archie had accumulated over the years. And as I sit here writing I realize the void that Archie's passing has left. There is no one in this club, including myself, who will be able to continue the work that Archie has done. And while he didn't know everything, he certainly knew a lot and unselfishly shared his knowlege and time with anyone interested in his passion for antique bottles. And I'll bet he's having a heck of a time up there in that big flea market in the sky talking bottles with anyone interested enough to stop by.   Online Book The online book has been updated with a new background and permanent numbers have been assigned to all of the listed bottles. The new numbers are different from the numbers in the printed book in a couple of ways. First, the new numbers begin with the letter "i" such as iRI-242. The "i" is for internet and reflects the assignment in the online book. If the bottle was listed in the original printed book then that number is also included along with the new number. The number from the printed book will be in parenthesis and can be used as a cross reference for someone without internet access. Confused? Don't be. Hop on over to the book site and you'll see what I mean.   LRBC Show News It's almost here! The show in January is approaching faster that you think and there's still work to be done. First, volunteers are needed for the show to man the admissions table, to sell books and tee shirts, guard the doors during dealer set up, and answer general questions. Please contact Art Pawlowski by email at: blobtops@aol.com to volunteer your services. Rob Fahey has been busy with the advertising and is going one step farther by setting up a table of his own somewhere in the middle of the show promoting the club and recruiting new members. A very generous gesture and undertaking. There will be a few additions at this year's show. First will be a ribbon given for the best table display. The ballots and ballot box will be available at the admissions table. There will also be a bottle raffle. Art is acquiring a nice pontilled piece and the bottle will be on display at Rob Fahey's table.   To one and all have a happy and safe holiday season! Upcoming Events January 14, 2001 - South Attleboro, MA Little Rhody Bottle Club Annual Bottle Show & Sale 10 AM to 2 PM K of C Hall, 304 Highland Ave. Info: Art Pawlowski; blobtops@aol.com Classified Ads Wanted: RI Bottles of all types. I am looking for ALL bottles from RI, common and rare, clear and aqua, colored, medicines, sodas, anything I need for my collection. Contact Dave at 401-942-6634 or on the web at: oaklawn@earthlink.net Do you have RI bottles which are not listed in Antique Bottles Of Rhode Island? Or maybe you have a bottle in a color or size that is not listed in the book? If so, please send the information to me for inclusion in the bottle book. Proper credit will be given and all information is greatly appreciated. Send by email to: oaklawn@earthlink.net or write to: David Andrews, 192 Wilbur Ave., Cranston, RI 02921 Toy marbles. Will pay cash. Call Jerry Biern: 401-826-3933 Bitters, Peppersauce, and Demi-Johns. Call Jan Boyer: 401-539-2051 1/2 gallon spring water bottles with arched slugplate. Preferably with bail and closure. Call Art: 508-399-6427 or email: blobtops@aol.com Seltzer water bottles. Wanted in various colors such as red, cobalt, pink, and yellow. Please call Angelo: 401-421-3782 Woonsocket milk bottle - Carl Hendrickson Dairy. Wanted by his granddaughter Donna. Please email her at: dhendrickson@wallace.com. For Sale: Scarce RI fire related bottle!! I have several of these scarce bottles for sale. Click here to see a representative photo. All are in excellent condition with some very light cloudiness inside. Bottles are 5-3/4" tall, clear, cylindrical with an eight panelled mug base and are embossed COMBINATION / LADDER CO. They do not say RI on them but the company was in business beginning in the late 1800's in Providence. Company tradecard shows proof. Price is $15.00 (add $3.20 for shipping and $.85 for insurance if desired). Contact Dave at 401-942-6634 or email at: oaklawn@earthlink.net. Please direct comments or corrections to: dandrews@littlerhodybottleclub.com Back To Top