One more comment about trash disposal:

        In the area around El Paso, Texas, along with the burn barrel as a
normal part of trash deposition, casual burial in the back yard was a
common practice.  This apparently continued until at least the 1960s.
 People would dig very large holes occasionally--we found one in San
Elizario, Texas, where an entire roof had been buried in a hugh pit.
This behavior was apparently pretty common in both businesses and
residents.
        As described by other HISTARCHers, informal trash dumps were also
common in various parts of town--some of them quit extensive.

Bill


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