Relic Hunting Finds & History

Dear Friends, Family, & Readers:

I have had a few people ask me what I have been finding on my long treks through the jungles of Saipan, so I felt it was time to write again.  When I was a young boy, I always wanted to be an archaeologist.  In Saipan, I get to do a little hiking and a little digging, which makes me feel like I am somewhat reliving my childhood.  I am reliving my childhood because as a young boy I would dig up stuff in my back yard and the funny thing was...I found bones!  While in Saipan, I enjoy digging up things other than bone.  After finding old relics, I like to look up the meaning and origin of the things I find.  Here are some of those finds and the history behind them.  If you are someone in Saipan who is bored and doesn't mind hiking, getting cut up, and sweating profusely in the jungle feel free to tag along on one of my outings.  I hope you enjoy the pictures and the history!  

Large battery I found along the cliff line just above the water at Obyan Beach... originally it was stuck between two trees , but I moved it to get a better picture.  It was really heavy.

Insignia on the battery labeling it U.S. made.

Small Amber Colored Owen Illinois- Abbot Lab bottle: Probably circa 1940’s-50’s possibly used during WWII to hold a new form of anti-infective penicillin as Abott Lab was 1 of 5 to be enlisted by the government to do so in 1941.  My mom thought it might be a bottle for iodine, which seems perhaps more plausible.  Either way this bottle would make for a great gift for someone who collects miniatures.  I saw a seller on e-bay selling one for about $10...

This is a D51 Mason Jar Lid Liner.  I grew up with my mom making canned peaches and pears and was under the impression that all canning jar lids were metal.  In the early days, however, they used porcelain liners.  When I found this lid, it was attached to a Mason Jar and the tin lid was attached.  Unfortunately the tin lid broke in my back pack due to rust and degradation. It could have been a collectors item... I may still be able to see the lid to someone who needs it for their collection as they don't make these anymore.

 This is a picture of a large Brushless Shave, Mennen Jar from 1943.  During the war, the troops needed tin for various goods the troops used.  Mennen started to market shaving cream to men in jars at this time in order to conserve and help the war effort. Below is a link to a color archive I found online that shows the Mennen product displayed in a helpful wartime ad:

http://gogd.tjs-labs.com/show-picture?id=1138819668&size=FULL

Possible medicine bottle WWII the patents was taken out before the war in 1931.  When I found this bottle, it had no dropper attached as it had probably been broken in the jungle or disintegrated over time. On the bottom of this bottle is a flag and USA.  The glass bottle also has two small raised circles on one side. I’m not sure what kind of bottle this is.

This bottle is a mystery to me.  It is, however, one of my prized finds because the cap is still attached.  The bottle is extremely small only as tall as my pinky.  I have a hunch that it may be a possible poison bottle due to the three X's on the outside.

This is a WWII TL-122-B Flashlight I found in a poor state of affairs.  During WWII, there were three flashlight types made. There was an earlier "A-Model" that was metal and is probably more valuable.  This model was very common in 1943 and was notorious for a foul smell that came from the plastic.  Perhaps the plastic is the prime reason this model is in as good a shape as it is... 

Saipan Time is also Guam time:

More Saipan Oddities

Dear friends, family, and readers:

            My mission in blogging is not only to write about our lives in Saipan, but to also inform and research things I find interesting about Saipan. This blog is primarily comprised of pictures with explanations attached that show different aspects of our lives in Saipan I find interesting.

     Kalebrera Cave is a well know cave on Saipan.  It has ancient Chamorro paintings on its walls and is somewhat special in that sense.   The Chamorro have called Saipan their home for over 4,000 years, it is not surprising to see such pictures inside.  The picture I took isn’t that good, but I tried to capture the eerie skull face that appears inside the cave if you know where to look.  Can you see it?

     Eric W. Johnson (related to one of my students at school) has two pages that talk about his experiences with the caves.  He has a lot of great galleries to look through on his blog.

Eric Johnson Flickr Photos & Eric Johnson's Blog

Picture 2: Coral (gravel) Pit of Saipan, MP

Simple picture of a pit they use for coral/limestone road construction and other things.  One cannot actually go down into the pit because it is private property and the gate is barred.  

 

Picture 3: Water Jug Creation a.k.a. Curly 

On Saipan, we get our drinking water from companies that sell 5 gallon water jugs.  Once you buy a jug at full price you can have it refilled for only $2.00 or $2.50 if you decide to go to a gas station or have it delivered to your door.  Because I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on decorations at our school apartment, I thought I would hot glue gun the caps of these bottles together.  I found that in order to make it stronger I stick the caps onto a card board back.  If you really want to make them strong you will poke holes in them and tie them with string instead and skip the hot glue… in reality it would probably be quicker and more effective than gluing them… oh well… live and learn I guess.  Curly is made out of 44 caps (a total of  $110/220gallons) and two Pringles caps haha.  It is definitely something fun one can do on rainy days in Saipan, the catch is you need to collect a lot of caps either from school or from your friends in order to do it…  I have one other bottle cap creation that is about to fall apart in our bathroom…it is a large cross.  I may repair it when it breaks by attaching string to it so that the glue holds longer.

Picture 4: A Filipino Bush Cutter (otherwise known from some misguided horror story)

This guy was cutting the grass around our school and is not the most creepy one I’ve seen on island as every guy has their own unique style of protective gear (sometimes the lack there of makes them even creepier).  In Saipan, we don’t really “mow” grass so much as keep it extremely short using large gas powered weed whackers. I do not know how these guys wear such heavy clothing in the heat; it will forever remain a mystery to me.  If it didn’t rain so much maybe it would be easier to mow and keep grass short…  Not only is their outfit scary (as I think about Halloween coming up), but if they don’t see you they continue to cut grass which leaves one vulnerable to being hit with sticks, pebbles, and diced lizards.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and my silly quips about Living Life in Saipan.  Kara and I have lot of stuff coming up so there will be more blogs in the near future.  I will also hopefully have more time to explore the island. I was going to go this weekend, but it is so rainy today the jungle would be hot and slippery.  I may go looking for sea shells today at some beach or I may just sit at home and clean/watch movies and what not.  Perhaps Sunday will provide me more time to go exploring in the jungle... That's life from Saipan! 

Sincerely, Grant

The Time in Saipan is Guam Time: