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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-05-15 PACKET 6.C.5/10/2019 Privy to history: Amateur archaeologists awarded Preservationist of the Year I SWC Bulletin SOUTH WASHINGTON COUNTY Ruiietin Privy to history: Amateur archaeologists awarded Preservationist of the Year By Veon May 9, 2019 at 5:00 a.m. 14 Brandon Lewanski and David Labno (second and third from left) accept the 2019 Preservationist of the Year Award at the May 1 Cottage Grove City Council meeting. William Loeffler/ RiverTown Multimedia COTTAGE GROVE — For venturing where few have dared, two local "outhouse archaeologists" received the 2019 Preservationist of the Year award at the May 1 Cottage Grove City Council meeting. Brandon Lewanski and David Labno locate and excavate 19th and early 20th century outhouse sites. Before the advent of modern plumbing, these detached "privies" also did https://www.swcbuIletin.com/community/people/4610023-privy-history-amateur-archaeologists-awarded-preservationist-year 1/4 5/10/2019 Privy to history: Amateur archaeologists awarded Preservationist of the Year I SWC Bulletin double duty as trash pits. "I've been involved 30 years since I was in high school," Labno said. "As a hobby, some people like hunting and fishing. I look for old bottles and old artifacts. I think it really brings history to I ife." Last year, the two delved into a former outhouse at the historic Dr. Arthur H. Steen home in Old Cottage Grove. The owners are City Council member Wayne Butt and his wife Angie. The couple's home was built in 1854 by John Furber, a founder of Cottage Grove. Some of their booty from the dig was displayed on a table outside council chambers. It included medicine bottles, mason jars, and shards of china and pottery, some dating back to the 1880s. Labno told council that he's excavated about 1,000 outhouses. He's found rusty guns, liquor bottles and drug paraphernalia. Items can offer insight into the daily lives of 19th century homesteaders. An inkwell could mean they knew how to read and write, which wasn't always the case in that era. Seeds, https://www.swcbulletin.com/community/people/4610023-privy-history-amateur-archaeologists-awarded-preservationist-year 2/4 5/10/2019 Privy to history: Amateur archaeologists awarded Preservationist of the Year I SWC Bulletin which are not digested, offer clues as to what they ate. Lewanski and Labno told council they're keen to excavate and preserve more of the city's history as new housing developments overtake rural land. The original city, platted out by Furber and his brother Joseph, included a drug store, dry goods and grocery stores, two blacksmith shops, and a wagon shop and hotel. There are more clues under the earth. "Progress happens, that's fine," Labno said. "We think it's a great thing to save the information and share it with people." "Once these places are gone, they're gone," Lewanski said. "There's nothing that anybody's going to remember." Fortunately, these former latrines pose no health threat. "It all decomposes, by the way," Labno said. William Loeffler William Loeffler is a playwright and journalist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He worked 15 years writing features for the Pittsburgh Tribune -Review. He has also written travel stories based on his trips to all seven continents. He and his wife, Michelle, ran the Boston Marathon in 2009. wloeffler@rivertowns. net (651) 301-7883 SPONSORED CONTENT ` Not Your Grandpa's Dentures Anymore By Renew " 4d r s' m� https://www.swcbulletin.com/community/people/4610023-privy-history-amateur-archaeologists-awarded-preservationist-year 3/4 5/10/2019 Privy to history: Amateur archaeologists awarded Preservationist of the Year I SWC Bulletin https://www.swcbulletin.com/community/people/4610023-privy-history-amateur-archaeologists-awarded-preservationist-year 4/4