Demolition Worker Finds 112-Year-Old Note Inside Beer Bottle in Wall of University Building
A New Jersey construction worker found a 112-year-old note inside a glass bottle during the demolition of a brick wall at Montclair State University.
Robert Kanaby, a demolition worker, was taking down an old brick wall inside the university’s College Hall building in February. The 14-foot brick wall was part of the building’s original construction, laid over 100 years ago.
As Kanaby worked to remove the bricks, he found a hidden treasure that had been tucked inside the wall, a handwritten note that told a century-old story.
“All of a sudden I hit an unusual void in the wall. My chipping gun went in and I heard glass breaking,” Kanaby told News 12 New Jersey.
The broken glass was from a beer bottle and inside was a note, written in beautiful cursive letters and still legible, dated July 3, 1907.
“This is to certify that this wall was built by two bricklayers from Newark, N.J., by the names of William Hanly and James Lennon, members of No. 3 of the B.M.I.U. of America,” the note read.
Kanaby was excited about the discovery and quickly went to show Sharon Mahoney, the university’s director of construction management. She, too, was in awe.
“Amazing to think, if he started chipping a few feet in either direction, the bottle may have been inside a wall section which was taken down in one piece and may never have been found,” Mahoney told CNN.
Kanaby reflected on the extra time and labor it would have taken to lay brick over 100 years ago, without the modern tools at his disposal today.
“It’s really nice to just find that to see the guys sat down, took a break, wrote a note, rolled it up in a bottle and put it in the wall for someone else to find like myself, 112 years later,” Kanaby said, according to News 12 New Jersey.
University officials were able to verify the names and addresses of the two bricklayers using census data, CNN reported, but have been unable to link the men to any living relatives.
They found a William J. Hanley, 33, who lived on Central Avenue in Newark and a bricklayer named James Lennon, born around 1875, who lived in Newark as well.
Officials are still hoping to locate living relatives and invite them into the Montclair community.
“The two men who placed it within our original building, College Hall, are part of our community forever. So we want to let any descendants of them know, that they are a part of our community as well,” Andrew Mees of Montclair State University told 12 News New Jersey.
The university plans to exhibit the letter and the bottle, along with other artifacts uncovered during the renovation that tell stories of the school’s vibrant history.
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