Home remodels come with many unwelcome surprises. They can cost more than your budget, can take more time than you expect and usually leave a mess for longer than you anticipated. Every now and then, though, the surprise is worth sharing.
"This is the Denver Post from July 2, 1931," said Lakewood homeowner Anthony Wright. "Back behind the fridge, we found this old relic."
Anthony, and his wife, Spring, are in the middle of remodeling their kitchen. While knocking out the wall near the refrigerator, they found headlines hidden for 87 years.
"My favorite was, it wasn't a Denver story, but it was in Chicago, there was a rogue flautist that was disturbing the neighbors," said Spring. "They put an ad in the paper that says, 'Will the flute player in the 200 East Delaware Block kindly cease and oblige the neighbors.'"
Apparently, the Next Door app was really created in 1931.
"The flautist was brought to justice for disturbing the neighborhood. That's my favorite," Spring added.
"One of the stories that I enjoyed was the bayonet found on an Indian battlefield. 'The weapon was of blue steel and stamped U.S. It was almost entirely free from rust.' That was from Deadwood, South Dakota," said Anthony. "I am kind of a nerd for history and politics. I really thought it was interesting what we found in our house."
There wasn't a lot of local content in the pages found in their wall.
"'Nine-year-old is good shot. Nine-year-old Gloria Roupe of Raymore, Missouri, is the girl rifle champion of the country,'" Spring read from the paper. "For someone who's a sharpshooter, I feel like it should be 'excellent shot.'"
The ads and the movie listings, however, were local.
"You can buy golf clubs for 95 cents," said Anthony.
"Woods and irons for 95 cents," continued Spring. "Outing jugs. Crock lined. Keep foods or liquids hot or cold for hours."
"This was all at the Golden Eagle Department Store which was at 16th and Lawrence Streets," Anthony went on.
The movie listings were for "Iron Man" at the Tabor Grand Opera House at 16th and Curtis Streets, "Hell Bound" at the Aladdin at Colfax Avenue and Race Street and "Doctors' Wives" at the Bluebird Theater at Colfax Avenue and Adams Street.
"It feels like the newspaper was everything," said Spring. "There's fashion, it's like Pinterest and Instagram, it's like everything together that we have so many different mediums for now - was all in the paper."
"This house was built in 1922. This house has weathered through a lot of things. This newspaper has definitely been weathered too," said Anthony. "It almost feels like a dollar bill that's been through the wash."
"We've talked to other people who found the same thing in their houses, in their old houses. I guess it was common practice to insulate," said Spring. "Probably doesn't meet code."
Their kitchen remodel will last a few more weeks, but when it's done, there will be an unexpected addition to the wall.
"There's one section that says, 'after supper specials' that we'll probably frame and put in our kitchen when it's done because I really like to cook," said Spring.