HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-05-05, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2016.
Renos lead to found antiques
Buried treasure
Jim Forgett, who lives in Blyth, found a treasure trove of old newspapers behind the walls in
his home. Forgett started renovating a home he purchased two years ago and found that
someone had used newspapers, some as old as a century -and -a -half, to line the walls and
prevent drafts from coming through. He is shown above holding an issue of the Blyth Review
from the late 19th century. (Denny Scott photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
When Jim Forgett purchased his
home on Hamilton Street in Blyth,
he had no idea the treasure he would
find within.
He knew there was a lot of work
ahead of him when he took posses-
sion of the home in May, 2013, and,
while he knew there could be any-
thing behind the wallpaper and old
wood that made up the house, he
didn't expect to find newspapers as
old as a century and a half when he
started his renovations.
"There was a lot of work involved
with getting the house where I
wanted it," he said. "I'm still work-
ing towards it as well, but one of the
first things I did was start taking
down the wallpaper."
After taking down the wallpaper
in the home, Forgett found some
interesting construction techniques
that he didn't anticipate uncovering.
The walls, which were made out
of planks that measured as much as
16 inches across, didn't always
make it all the way across the wall
which left gaps between inner and
outer barriers.
He believes that those gaps, as
well as the smaller spaces between
the boards, was why someone had
taken old newspapers and affixed
them to the wall.
"1 found a lot of different newspa-
pers and some of them come from
as far back as 1869," he said. "There
are newspapers here from Montreal,
Toronto, Blyth and Seaforth and
some other ones that seem from fur-
ther away.
The papers, which include the
Montreal Family Herald, The
Weston Advertiser and the Weekly
Liberal, the Blyth Review and a
paper called The Educator, are very
interesting according to Forgett.
"The Educator, for example, has
astronomy in it so people could
learn about the planets," he said.
"Some of the other papers had very
graphic stories as well, which I
Continued on page 19
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