LEONARD GRAY

PHOTO: LUKE BOYER EXAMINES two of his prized old Coca-Cola bottles from his collection of bottles and jars dating back nearly 200 years. (Staff Photo by Leonard Gray) One man’s trash is often another man’s treasure, and that’s never so clear as in bottle collecting. For Luke Boyer it’s a harmless pastime even he doesn’t fully understand. Yet, his bottle collection would astound almost anyone who sees it. “It’s just something to do,” Boyer said. “My grandkids will probably throw them away.” Don’t bet on it. There are rarities and treasures among his collection which will pay for several college educations. Where else can you find Coca-Cola bottles dating back more than 70 years, or a whiskey bottle which is also a music-box complete with dancing ballerina? Where else can you see labels for soft drinks called MBC, Triple AAA, Try-Me, Dr. Up, Sweet Mandy, Jumbo Cola, Cola-Hiball and Stein O? “A lot of this has disappeared,” he said. “You can’t find this for love or money.” But that’s just what Boyer did. The bulk of his collection came from hiking through the woods and sorting through old houses, about to be demolished and poking through trash heaps. A native of Paradis, he grew up in the town, served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and the Air Force, married a Des Allemands girl and raised his children there. He served with the St. Charles Sheriff’s Office, attaining the rank of Chief Criminal Deputy before his retirement. Now in his mid-70s, Boyer indulges his hobby, sorting and enjoying the fruits of his labor, housed in a building adjoining his home on Robert Street. He began his hobby in 1970 and was simply fascinated with the old bottles he found discarded. Once a rail line ran from the Mozella Plantation to Luling, and many of his bottles were found alongside that line. Boyer said, “I don’t buy; I don’t sell; I just collect.” Boyer added he’s made a few mistakes, bypassing more valuable bottles for more interesting ones. However, he’s been able to go back to some places and fill in those gaps in his collection. “I used to keep my collection in the other shed until it started getting out of hand,” Boyer said with a smile. Perhaps “out of hand” isn’t exactly the right term – his collection is more than 10,000 bottles. Add to that his collection of advertising signs, tin serving trays, beer steins, beer and wine bottles and everything from perfume bottles to Avon collectables and one can only dream of the treasures tucked away here. He once saw an article where a bottle collector was boasting of a soda-alkali bottle with a Thomas A. Edison signature design. “I’ve probably got 30 of them,” Boyer noted. His collection includes 50-year-old salve jars with contents intact, hand-blown wine bottles and bleach and mouthwash bottles. If it was ever sold in a bottle, chances are Boyer has at least one and probably four. Boyer never turns down a bottle given to him. “They’re only worth what people are willing to pay for them,” he noted. Anything from antebellum wine jugs to Coca-Cola bottles before they began their distinctive shape can be found here. From a liquor bottle subdivided into four for different liquors to a Jax Beer sign, more than 100 years of bottles are represented in Luke Boyer’s bottle-house. Got bottles? He wants em.