Yesterday a neighbor offered me some original side lites (glass side window panels) for the front door, which he had recycled from a house on the next block. I was really excited to get them as my house was missing them and had been filled in with wood.
When I was putting them in today I discovered something of a time capsule. Stenciled inside the wall of the house near the front door was what appeared to be shipping labels from Fort Snelling, Minnesota to Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Additionally it clearly states the name of the original owner of the house, which is Lt. Col. W.J. Henry.
I am not sure if the house was shipped in panels or if the wall was made from a crate which some of his belongings arrived in. In any case it was pretty cool to pull out a piece of wood that hadn’t been touched since 1920 and see who the original owner was.
I think I’ll permanently affix them somewhere in the attic to assure they stay with the house for future owners.
