and preparing for the weekly count. All of them had scoured the
roadways and bugged their relatives and neighbors for every bottle.
The plan was to meet Saturday for the count, at Ton an Tanks,
and cash them in. Ton had said his mom would drive the bottles
in the station wagon to town.
A lot of the boys had been dropping bottles there all week as they
found them. The tack shed was full of bottles, piled everywhere.
Brent and Brian had a stack in one corner and Ton an Tank had a stack in
another corner. Rodney and Travis had a bunch at corporate HQ
and some in the flat bottom boat at Ton and Tanks.
Things were just getting started at camp Wannamaka, when Brent said,
"Hey where's Josh?, I knew he'd weasel out and keep the money! "
" He'll be here," Rodney said. "Now let's get started counting, you got a
pencil and paper?" "Yeah, Right here,"said Tank.
The count went on for several minutes, when Josh rode up with his dad.
In the back were several flat cases of bottles and several cardboard boxes full.
"Hey, Rod don't forget these!", Josh boasted. Josh's dad helped unload
a huge amount of bottles from the truck, then said he would haul them to town
next week.
At the end they had a little over 50 cases of bottles, Rodney looked at the rest
of them and said," It's a great effort but we're short!" " We have to figure a way
to get more bottles. This week is only $36.24 by my count.
A few of the boys started to complain that they had got more than the rest.
Rodney interjected, " It might not be that way next week, share and share alike,
You may not be ahead next week". They all nodded their heads and they agreed
to meet there next week.
Rodney headed home thinking of the gang and if they would make it.
He passed Lenny's place when he heard him yell," howdy neighbor"!
Rodney slowed and turned in, "Hey, Lenny" "You look deep in thought
Rodney. What's your young mind stirring about now"?
Rodney proceeded to tell him about the gang and the plan.
" But we're starting out short of our goal," Rodney complained.
"Well my little capitalist you have created quite the corporation," Lenny
said. " You're a real business man, but what you need is inside information".
" My buddy down at Pepco told me that the state was going to raise the
deposit to a nickel, Now all you got to do is hold out 'til the end of July.
Rodney's head started spinning, 3 cents to a nickel, then he snapped back
to reality." Yeah right, you got me in deep last time I listened to you Lenny"!
Lenny responded with his usual, " I'm sorry you doubt me little brother but
I got it straight from the head man". " Lenny, don't BS me around that almost
doubles our money if we wait a month". " I got to go, I'll think about it",Rodney
said as he pedalled away. And think he did, started multiplying by 5, instead of 3
Envisioning a mountain of bottles by the end of July each at 5 cents per....Whow!
This would require an emergency meeting and vote. When he got home he phone
Travis the news, they talked excitedly about all of the possibilities.
That night he could barely sleep, he thought about a new bike and some nice stuff
for his mom.
This is a photo of the authors gang, summer of '71.
It was an Ecology Club our first project was cleaning the
the ditch east of our farm. I'm certain there were a few bottles.
The woods and creek that ran through was a childhood playground.
Many a lean-to fort was built there.
It seems to me we are all still that kid collecting soda bottles, mowing or
delivering the paper to earn money, all be it somewhat on a different level.
May we still have the same level of enthusiasm as we did when we were young.
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