More Treasure Found Behind the Walls
Our last article on this topic was so popular we've written a follow-up. There seems to be no shortage of treasure lost behind walls.
A Christmas Present from Beyond
Fred Ravens, a dentist in Reading, Massachusetts, was watching a crew demolish the 150-year-old house next to his office that he had recently purchased. The previous owner had lived there three decades, and had passed away just a month before. As the walls were being pulled down, Ravens was shocked to see cash fluttering down around the site. "The money just sort of flung out, just flooded out into the air," he told the local TV station. The $50 and $100 bills totaled $2,500. He legally could have kept the cash himself, but instead he found the surviving daughters of the home's late owner and gave it to them. "I said to them, this is a Christmas present from your mother. She can't be here this year to give you a present, but she left you this money."
A Mobster's Stash?
The early part of the 20th century was a high time for gangsters in the Chicago area, and it's probable some of their hideouts remain undiscovered. Andrew Mayes may have found one while renovating a house in Lockport, a town about an hour southwest of Chicago. Mayes was knocking through a closet wall when a gunnysack fell out. Inside was a 1928 A1 Thompson submachine gun, better known as a Tommy gun, a favorite of 1920s-era gangsters! It was in pristine condition, and came with seven boxes of ammunition. Mayes called the police, and they're trying to search through the records to determine who might have put the gun there. Was it hidden in the wall so a mobster could make a last stand? It's just as possible some frightened law-abiding citizen hid it there, police say. "It could have been used for self-protection," Will County Sheriff Paul Kaupas told the Chicago Tribune. "But why was it hidden in the wall?"
Diamonds!
You'd probably be excited if you found a diamond ring behind the walls of a house your were demolishing, so imagine how excited demo man Raju (no last name was given in the newspaper article) was when he discovered more than $20,000 worth of loose diamonds behind the walls of a house in India. He scooped them right up and sold them. When the contractor learned of Raju's find, he told the police, presumably because he wanted his share. The police decided that since the diamonds were apparently in the house more than 100 years, they actually belonged to the state! They recovered the diamonds in the market.
Well, Not Exactly a Treasure
Workers were tearing out a ceiling in a British theatre when they found essentially a personal time capsule. Inside was a letter dated March 6, 1901, written by a man named Frank Morrill. Accompanying the letter was a pair of well-used workman's trousers! The letter said, "When you have inspected these trousers please hand them over to the curator of the Taylor Buildings for the Museum as they were worn by Frank Morrill, Chief Assistant to John C. Nairn and Son, who restored the ceiling of the building. Hope you enjoy yourself when you have found this valuable treasure. I expect I will have fed the worms by that time, however I will have a good time before I do so."
Teeth, Shells, Pipes, Newspapers
Maybe none of these seemed like treasures when the owners dumped them around the brownstone building in Brooklyn, but when the current owners excavated for an addition they found several old clay jugs, a big seashell, some broken china, and other little treasures. They also found an 1897 New York Herald used for insulation. You can read about the entire project, and see pictures of these "treasures," here.
Find any interesting treasures in your jobs? Tell us by sending an email to Ed Avis, edavis@edavisassociates.com
A Christmas Present from Beyond
Fred Ravens, a dentist in Reading, Massachusetts, was watching a crew demolish the 150-year-old house next to his office that he had recently purchased. The previous owner had lived there three decades, and had passed away just a month before. As the walls were being pulled down, Ravens was shocked to see cash fluttering down around the site. "The money just sort of flung out, just flooded out into the air," he told the local TV station. The $50 and $100 bills totaled $2,500. He legally could have kept the cash himself, but instead he found the surviving daughters of the home's late owner and gave it to them. "I said to them, this is a Christmas present from your mother. She can't be here this year to give you a present, but she left you this money."
A Mobster's Stash?
The early part of the 20th century was a high time for gangsters in the Chicago area, and it's probable some of their hideouts remain undiscovered. Andrew Mayes may have found one while renovating a house in Lockport, a town about an hour southwest of Chicago. Mayes was knocking through a closet wall when a gunnysack fell out. Inside was a 1928 A1 Thompson submachine gun, better known as a Tommy gun, a favorite of 1920s-era gangsters! It was in pristine condition, and came with seven boxes of ammunition. Mayes called the police, and they're trying to search through the records to determine who might have put the gun there. Was it hidden in the wall so a mobster could make a last stand? It's just as possible some frightened law-abiding citizen hid it there, police say. "It could have been used for self-protection," Will County Sheriff Paul Kaupas told the Chicago Tribune. "But why was it hidden in the wall?"
Diamonds!
You'd probably be excited if you found a diamond ring behind the walls of a house your were demolishing, so imagine how excited demo man Raju (no last name was given in the newspaper article) was when he discovered more than $20,000 worth of loose diamonds behind the walls of a house in India. He scooped them right up and sold them. When the contractor learned of Raju's find, he told the police, presumably because he wanted his share. The police decided that since the diamonds were apparently in the house more than 100 years, they actually belonged to the state! They recovered the diamonds in the market.
Well, Not Exactly a Treasure
Workers were tearing out a ceiling in a British theatre when they found essentially a personal time capsule. Inside was a letter dated March 6, 1901, written by a man named Frank Morrill. Accompanying the letter was a pair of well-used workman's trousers! The letter said, "When you have inspected these trousers please hand them over to the curator of the Taylor Buildings for the Museum as they were worn by Frank Morrill, Chief Assistant to John C. Nairn and Son, who restored the ceiling of the building. Hope you enjoy yourself when you have found this valuable treasure. I expect I will have fed the worms by that time, however I will have a good time before I do so."
Teeth, Shells, Pipes, Newspapers
Maybe none of these seemed like treasures when the owners dumped them around the brownstone building in Brooklyn, but when the current owners excavated for an addition they found several old clay jugs, a big seashell, some broken china, and other little treasures. They also found an 1897 New York Herald used for insulation. You can read about the entire project, and see pictures of these "treasures," here.
Find any interesting treasures in your jobs? Tell us by sending an email to Ed Avis, edavis@edavisassociates.com