Formed in 2009, the Archive Team (not to be confused with the archive.org Archive-It Team) is a rogue archivist collective dedicated to saving copies of rapidly dying or deleted websites for the sake of history and digital heritage. The group is 100% composed of volunteers and interested parties, and has expanded into a large amount of related projects for saving online and digital history.
We were out for a drive and came up on these guys...this place is right beside the road in a small town about 15 or 20 miles north of here. The owners give tours, and I had planned for us to go back and get an actual tour and maybe even take notes or something till I could have lots to tell.
However that was September 1 of last year and we have yet to make it back up there on a weekday. I was so impressed with it that I was all eyes, trying to take pictures, and just so in awe of it all.
I did come away with a couple of facts that I remember for sure. This is a family owned business that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year. It was very hot the day we were there and the heat coming from this place was intense. I worried about getting too close and the heat damaging my camera.
Though these pictures do not show it, there were heat waves surrounding the place. I cannot imagine doing this for 8 hours a day! The two guys did take turns digging out the clankers.
Anyway, the clay to make the bricks is right there on the property not far from the kilns. I am not sure of the word...do they call it digging clay, or is it mined...I don't know.
I still hope to go back someday and have a slower, more informed tour.
