Welcome aboard to the new folks, and hello to the rest of you,

I have been on the list about five or six years, so I guess that makes me a medium
timer.  I think this introduction idea is great.  I know some of you pretty well (either
through private e-mail contact or real-life interaction, but most are just names.  It is
pretty cool to read a bit more.

Although I get paid for teaching sociology at the Alamogordo campus of New Mexico
State University, I also conduct both archaeological and historical research, mostly in
the field of bottles.  Along with a volunteer prehistoric archaeology project that my
wife, Wanda Wakkinen, and I have been doing for the last five years, I occasionally
do local work, usually in historical archaeology.

My abiding passion is bottle research, most ly local, although I am looking into a
number of national items.  My goal before retirement (currently planned in about 13
years) is to write histories and bottle chronologies of all the bottle-related industries
(soda bottlers, dairies, breweries, drug stores, and a few others) of El Paso, Texas,
Southern New Mexico, and Juarez, Mexico.  I currently have e-books out on the
soda bottlers of El Paso and Alamogordo and the dairy industry in Otero County,
New Mexico.  My book (not peer reviewed) on the Socorro, New Mexico, bottling
industry should be out within the next two months (published by the Socorro County
Historical Society).

I have recently started sending out bottle tidbits that I run across (or carefully
research) to those of you who have indicated an interest.  If any of the new folks are
interested, just drop me an e-mail, and I will add you to my list.  I also solicit any
bottle-related reports or articles any of you may put out.  Please e-mail me with
bibliographic details.   I am always happy to be on free distribution lists, but I am
willing to pay for reports, too.

Bill

Bill Lockhart
New Mexico State University
Alamogordo, NM
(505) 439-3732