The Citizen, 2016-05-05, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2016. PAGE 19.
Century-antl-a-half old newspapers found in walls
A little less itchy
When Blyth resident Jim Forgett decided to get rid of the wallpaper in his sitting room, he
never anticipated finding a plethora of antique newspapers being used for insulation. He
believes they were used to stop drafts from coming into the home. Some of the papers come
from the mid 19th century and are approximately 150 years old. (Photo submitted)
Continued from page 18
found odd for the time."
Forgett said that, while he was
surprised at finding the newspapers
at all, he was doubly surprised at the
size of them. The papers, which
were folded several times for
transport, were the size of posters.
He said that was likely why the
papers were used to block the
breezes from entering the home
when it was built.
Between the newspapers and the
odds and ends he found stuffed into
the walls for insulation, Forgett said
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he found quite the treasure trove. He
said he discovered at least 40
newspapers.
While the size and the number of
the periodicals were impressive,
according to Forgett, he was also
taken aback by how the newspapers
handled stories, especially stories
that were harder -hitting news items.
Forgett pointed to tales from the
news portions of the papers that
retold the stories of struggles
between settlers and First Nations
People where the settlers did not fare
well.
to gardens
moisture plants need to build strong
roots and survive summer, need light
Continued on page 20
"It wasn't a good story," he said.
"It was very detailed in how the
people were injured."
Despite the frank matter in which
the papers discuss the issues of the
day, Forgett says he enjoys having
the collection and has started sharing
it with his neighbours. He said
people are always very interested to
see the way things were handled in
the past.
One oddity that he was excited to
share with The Citizen was the fact
that, in a headline in The Blyth
Review, Dinsley Street was spelled
Densley. Whether it's a typo or
whether there is a tale behind it,
much like the mystery behind the
Ainlays of Brussels, remains to be
seen.
Mysteries, hard-hitting news and a
few fun writeups have kept Forgett
reading and have also given him
hope for what else he might find on
his property.
"I've still got the attic to go, so I'm
excited to see what I might find
there," he said. "I'm also going
through the old barn and I've found
things there that I wouldn't expect to
find like an unopened bottle of anti-
freeze from the late 1960s. Every
time I turn around I'm looking at
something else interesting
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