Where ever she is, Alice E. Johnson is a little richer than she realizes.
Bob Schwarzler, the president of the Cornwall Historical Society, shared that information at a Monday night meeting at Munger Cottage. It was a segue to a program on attic treasures.
Some years ago, he was remodeling a room for one of his daughters when he discovered a $50 Series E Savings Bond that was issued on June 20, 1944 to Miss Alice E. Johnson or Mrs. Katharine Johnson of 15 Clark Street, Cornwall-on-Hudson.
Mr. Schwarzler theorized that the bond (which was issued two weeks after D Day) might have slipped off a desk and fallen into a crack in the wall. Hopefully, no family member got blamed for its disappearance Today, the bond would be worth more than five times its face value.
There were other pieces of memorabilia at the society’s Oct. 27 meeting. Jane Harkinson took over the program from Mr. Schwarzler and referred to a few of them. She told the audience that Barbara Devitt (a member of the Quackenbush family) had donated a blacksmith’s ledger that was used by her ancestors in the 18th century. Mice had chewed a portion of the pages, but otherwise the ledger was in good condition.
Mrs. Devitt also contributed a January 1800 edition of the Ulster County Gazette, which reports on the death of George Washington on Dec. 14, 1799.
Richard Randazzo brought copies of the Newburgh Evening News from the 1940s that had been preserved under the linoleum of his parents’ house.
Other artifacts included class pictures, skates from the Angola Roller Rink, a 1942 wedding dress, a telegraph key from the West Shore railroad line, and a weather vane that once belonged to the Storm King Engine Company.
After the weather vane was discarded, Mip Faurot fished it out of a dumpster, and sold it to Jay and Betty Ziegler in 1986 when he moved to Virginia.
Several of these artifacts are on display at the Historical Society’s museum, which is one level above the main entrance at Town Hall. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursdays.
As for the bond, Mr. Schwarzler reported that the Johnson family had moved to the Carolinas. He said that he’d be happy to send the bond to their daughter Alice if he was able to find her.
