The Briefing Room

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Wingnut on December 01, 2019, 02:52:40 pm

Title: A 112-year-old letter was found during renovations at a New Jersey university
Post by: Wingnut on December 01, 2019, 02:52:40 pm
 :beer:  :beer: :patriot:
Renovations at Montclair State University in New Jersey uncovered a 112-year-old letter from the workers who built one of the original buildings on campus, the university said.

Robert Kanaby, a demolition worker, found the letter inside a beer bottle while taking down a wall in the College Hall building in February.

“It’s a very old brick wall, about 14 feet with three layers of brick,” Kanaby said. “So I was going brick by brick with a tool.”

He heard glass break and knew something was wrong, he said. When he cleared the debris, he found the bottle with a letter inside.

“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,” read the letter, which was dated July 3, 1907.

“These guys were working on this before, just working around July 4 and drinking beers, and they decided to write this note for us to find,” said Kanaby.

https://wtop.com/national/2019/11/a-112-year-old-letter-was-found-during-renovations-at-a-new-jersey-university/
Title: Re: A 112-year-old letter was found during renovations at a New Jersey university
Post by: aligncare on December 01, 2019, 03:08:39 pm
It’s great to see an example of the fine penmanship practiced by even blue-collar workers of the time.

I mourn the fate of cursive in the low standards of “modern” society.
Title: Re: A 112-year-old letter was found during renovations at a New Jersey university
Post by: Wingnut on December 01, 2019, 03:10:35 pm
It’s great to see an example of the fine penmanship practiced by even blue-collar workers of the time.

I mourn the fate of cursive in the low standards of “modern” society.

I noticed that also. 
Title: Re: A 112-year-old letter was found during renovations at a New Jersey university
Post by: Smokin Joe on December 01, 2019, 08:01:48 pm
It’s great to see an example of the fine penmanship practiced by even blue-collar workers of the time.

I mourn the fate of cursive in the low standards of “modern” society.
Yep. I see where a lot of folks sign for stuff, and we're just about back to the era of "his mark"...
Title: Re: A 112-year-old letter was found during renovations at a New Jersey university
Post by: AllThatJazzZ on December 12, 2019, 06:02:15 am
What will future generations do when all of us who know cursive have passed on? Who will decipher such findings for them?
Title: Re: A 112-year-old letter was found during renovations at a New Jersey university
Post by: catfish1957 on December 12, 2019, 11:15:07 am
What will future generations do when all of us who know cursive have passed on? Who will decipher such findings for them?

A documentary has already been made....

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k4ybwKbmBtY/ToE-KImkWxI/AAAAAAAACeQ/NZAqvR938yY/s1600/Idiocracy.jpg)