Inside the antique beer bottle was a mysterious message which dates back to 1913. The letter is believed to have been written by two men named Smith and Hogan, who were construction workers involved in the original construction of the station back in 1913.
An Unexpected Discovery
Renovations were being performed at old Michigan Central Station, abandoned since 1988, to convert it into an all-new modern innovation hub. While the construction works of the station were underway, workers made the discovery of the bottle on an otherwise ordinary day at work for Lukas Nielson in Detroit. When he was tearing down the old fittings in the tearoom, his eyes fell on the glass Stroh’s Bohemian Beer bottle hidden behind the plaster.
Finding cigarette tins and discarded beer bottles was nothing new for the construction workers. On a daily basis, the crew members used to find all such items stuck in the wall. However, this case was something different from the others.
What fascinated the construction workers is the fact that the beer bottle contained a handwritten note. The date mentioned on the beer bottle was 19th July 1913, which coincides with the time when the central station building in Michigan was originally constructed.
While the construction workers were trying to reach a higher section of the cornice with the help of a lift, they discovered this beer bottle. The glass beer bottle was stuffed upside-down behind the crown molding of the wall. The bottle did not have a cap, and a rolled-up letter had been placed inside it.
Stroh’s Beer has been made in Detroit for over 100 years (PDru2014 / CC BY 2.0)
The Contents of the Letter
According to a demolition laborer called Nelson, it was quite exciting to discover something like the antique beer bottle inside, which was a 108-year-old message. Here a question might come to your mind as to how the paper lasted for years? Well, it is because when paper is not exposed to rain, extreme heat, or mold, it can last for hundreds of years. In this case, the paper was well-insulated in the glass beer bottle, so it was preserved.
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On finding the letter, it was extremely tempting for Nielsen and Kimble to open up the beer bottle and read the message hidden in the rolled paper. “It was extremely tempting, it really was,” says Nielsen. However, the two construction workers were prevented from doing so by the archivists from Ford. Nielsen also added that “if we did anything to remove it, we would have destroyed it.” So, they handed over the beer bottle to the project head.
Later on, the letter was carefully unfolded by the experts. While the message hidden in the letter was quite unclear, the experts could only make out that on it was written the names of two men. Along with the name, the date “July 1913” was also mentioned. The surnames of the two people were identifiable as “Smith” and “Hogan”. However, the complete message in the mysterious letter has yet to be read.
A Message from the Past
According to David Kampo, the project superintendent working for Christman-Brinker, the beer bottle was placed there intentionally with a hope that it would be found by someone in the future.
Now, the paper containing the mysterious message is to be preserved. The archivists of the Ford will keep the paper safe in a temperature-controlled and special space, in order to ensure that it does not get damaged. The paper will first be re-humidified and then stored in a special protective storage box.
According to Ted Ryan, the Ford’s Heritage and Brand Manager, “The main thing you have to do is slow down the deterioration of the paper.” He also added that “With the bottle, that’s easy because it’s glass, but we’ll also have to make sure the rest of the label doesn’t deteriorate. It’s just like the pieces of a classic car.”
