Peter started like so many of the big dog collectors did. He was out scuba diving and found bottles. He doesn't remember what his first bottle find was. It's no surprise. He started collecting in 1971. Peter says of the early 70's, "In an average dive in Pewaukee Lake I would get 20 blob beers a bunch of Hutches and wouldn't even take crown tops." For us more recent Pewaukee lake divers we can take solace in the fact that he never found any really early or rare bottles out there. I guess I'd like to take this opportunity to say, "Thanks Peter," for skimming off the lesser bottles and leaving the good ones for us!

 Peter took a box of bottles to Betty Ann's antique shop to find out what they were worth. He got out of his car and bumped into a Wisconsin bottle collector. Henry went through the box of bottles Peter had and told him what the bottles were worth. Henry also told Peter about the Milwaukee bottle club. Peter joined and slowly graduated into the curator of the most advanced overall Wisconsin bottle collection I've experienced so far. For the first ten years Peter only collected beer bottles. Peter's beer collection is nowhere near as advanced as some of the big beer collections when it comes to bottlers and number of examples. That being said his beer bottles rival the best beer bottles of any collection.

 Talking about collecting Peter gets a little more excited and a little more animated when the subject turns to privy digging. "Digging is going on a treasure hunt. It's opening a time capsule. When you dig down and you can figure the exact age by the artifacts you find. It just like Christmas!" says Peter. I couldn't agree more. The first bottle he ever found digging is still one of his favorites. A Clay John Graf with a cobalt flower.

 Peters thirty plus years of collecting have left him with some pretty interesting stories to tell. Once a porta potty almost fell on him. Peter said it would have killed him if it had hit him. I've tried to tell him not to dig the new ones! Another time he was threatened to be shot while digging around 14^th and Walnut in Milwaukee. Not such a good neighborhood. Peter's big regrets in collecting so far are missing out on the Mequon dump and the draining of Muskego Lake. He say's of both, "Some really good stuff was found." He can't regret too much, Peter has amassed a truly fantastic all around Wisconsin collection.

 Like so many of the top collectors Peter is eager to help the new collectors get started. He freely offers this advice for the newbies. Laughing, " Don't compete with me!" He says he loves the hobby. Getting permission to dig and meeting so many wacky people, I think that was directed at me, make this a great hobby. He goes on to say the people and history are as big a part of it as the bottles. Peter and his wife are into all sorts of antiques. They have lithographs, antique furniture and Blue Onion China. The interest started with antique bottles.

 I don't know what I can say about the bottles. This collection is overwhelming. Peter has focused on age color and quality for thirty years. The glass is indescribably beautiful. The glass isn't even his most complete or primary collection. Peter loves clay beers. He will grab a particularly ancient looking one and say, "This one is should be pontiled. It's civil war era." While many collectors refer to the clay beer as sewer tile Peters collection of them may be the most complete in the state. His whole collection is a must see for every Wisconsin collector! Peters favorites include amber Manitowoc Hutchinson, a pontiled Fess bitters, a pontiled sided Taylor brothers soda, a particularly crude clay root beer, a German wine bitters, a yellow quart Altpeter beer and on and on. I myself couldn't pick a favorite if I had to. The pontiled bottles are all amazing. Just thinking about which bottle I like best in Peters collection gives me a headache! I hope the pictures can show a splash of the grandeur. I doubt they will.