04-01-2016, 12:56 PM
Wow. First the Corduroy Road and now this...
Discovery of books halts LRT Work
WATERLOO REGION – Local businesses are once again dismayed to learn that LRT construction is delayed, this time due to the discovery of a cache of books underneath the remains of the corduroy road. The discovery was made on Thursday afternoon when crews pulled up the logs of the 150 year old road and discovered a burlap sack.
The fibers of the burlap had all but deteriorated but it was clearly wrapped around a tin box, approximately 40 cm long and 20 cm deep. The tin box was closed with a common pad-lock which archaeologists painstakingly removed with a crowbar. They were shocked to discover some eight or nine volumes known to be of special significance to Abraham Seagram, and long rumoured to have been lost.
Abraham Seagram is the half-brother of Joseph E. Seagram, founder of the distillery in 1857. Little is known of the reclusive Abraham who, according to a 1987 pamphlet, Wow! Waterloo! “was a committed amateur scientist, devoting all his hours to reading, taxidermy and experiments with dimethyl-mercury.”
“Although the books are not in very good condition, their historical importance is indisputable," says local historian Hans Bierman. Some business owners disagree.
Mandy Brouse, co-owner of Words Worth Books says, “Of course if anyone is going to get excited about the discovery of a library it’s going to be me, however I don’t understand why construction continues to be halted since the books have been removed from the site.” Additionally Brouse is dubious of the value of this find.
Bierman says that among the volumes were found: Boy’s Own Tales of Adventure, The Pocket Guide to Winning at Bridge, and The Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol. XXIV URA-ZYM, but probably the most valued
book in the collection is Hodgeson’s Taxonomy of Amphibians.
When asked for his reaction Bierman said, “I am over the moon! I mean, it’s not every day you find a book with a frog in the box in the sack on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the road!”
Words Worth Books also posted the front page of today's local section of the Record on their Facebook page.
Discovery of books halts LRT Work
WATERLOO REGION – Local businesses are once again dismayed to learn that LRT construction is delayed, this time due to the discovery of a cache of books underneath the remains of the corduroy road. The discovery was made on Thursday afternoon when crews pulled up the logs of the 150 year old road and discovered a burlap sack.
The fibers of the burlap had all but deteriorated but it was clearly wrapped around a tin box, approximately 40 cm long and 20 cm deep. The tin box was closed with a common pad-lock which archaeologists painstakingly removed with a crowbar. They were shocked to discover some eight or nine volumes known to be of special significance to Abraham Seagram, and long rumoured to have been lost.
Abraham Seagram is the half-brother of Joseph E. Seagram, founder of the distillery in 1857. Little is known of the reclusive Abraham who, according to a 1987 pamphlet, Wow! Waterloo! “was a committed amateur scientist, devoting all his hours to reading, taxidermy and experiments with dimethyl-mercury.”
“Although the books are not in very good condition, their historical importance is indisputable," says local historian Hans Bierman. Some business owners disagree.
Mandy Brouse, co-owner of Words Worth Books says, “Of course if anyone is going to get excited about the discovery of a library it’s going to be me, however I don’t understand why construction continues to be halted since the books have been removed from the site.” Additionally Brouse is dubious of the value of this find.
Bierman says that among the volumes were found: Boy’s Own Tales of Adventure, The Pocket Guide to Winning at Bridge, and The Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol. XXIV URA-ZYM, but probably the most valued
book in the collection is Hodgeson’s Taxonomy of Amphibians.
When asked for his reaction Bierman said, “I am over the moon! I mean, it’s not every day you find a book with a frog in the box in the sack on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the road!”
Words Worth Books also posted the front page of today's local section of the Record on their Facebook page.