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Man Finds Grandfathers Over 100-Year-Old Chest, You Won’t Believe What’s Inside

By Jeremy Butler
Published on: 01:45 PST, May 5, 2014

It is always an interesting read when someone finds a piece of history that has gone untouched for some amount of time. Such is the case with Reddit user cluckinho and the discovery of his grandfather’s chest, which had been kept a secret in the garage where he lived.

This chest, which appears to have gone undisturbed for decades, shows an incredible collection of history from the early 1900’s.

Below are photos of the user’s favorite items and his description to accompany them. He has requested that anyone with any information regarding any of the items to please let him know.

Have you ever found any amazing history buried in a garage or attic? Let us know!

Here is the chest. It was found in my Grandparents’ garage in a closet. Only my grandfather knew everything about it and only my grandmother and him knew it existed.
When we opened it up, unfortunately the right hinge broke. It’s extremely fragile.
The covers of the two compartments on top. The left one was ripped.
Here is the underside of the lid. I couldn’t find the art anywhere online, so if you recognize it please let me know.
Here are the two compartments uncovered. We were truly shocked to find hundreds of letters and other items dating back to the early 1900’s!
The bottom of the trunk was filled with even MORE stuff.
Creepy book. 1911.
Weird pages.
I’m afraid to read it aloud.
Lots of pictures like these in the book.
Another book with an unknown publishing date. It just says copyright 1900.
It has some very nice pictures in it.
A Brief History of the United States. 1900?
1924. This booklet was found in an envelope which was sent to a man named JC Malone. Apparently he was my Great Great Grandfather. This must have been his chest.
One of hundreds of letters. Most of the letters dealt with farming, since he was a farmer in New Mexico and Oklahoma. As we went further into the chest, we discovered even more about his fascinating life, and not all letters were so menial…
On this envelope, we noticed a something familiar in the top left: the Freemasonry symbol. JC Malone was a mason.
The letter inside. There were many other mason letters, and most were asking for small donations.

Masonry card.
Notice of Dues.
Mason postcard. Anyone know where this is?
We found this at the bottom, and had no idea what it was..
Until we found this. It was a device for supporting the stomach. Why was this needed? JC Malone had stomach cancer as revealed by many of the letters in the chest. I guess it alleviated some of his pain.
Then I found this box that I would assume once held a Colt Revolver. There was even a bullet and gun cleaner inside, along with some other stuff….
This was in the colt box. I believe it’s similar to elixirs in Red Dead Redemption — they didn’t cure anything. I just think JC Malone was trying everything to help with his stomach troubles.
I found this button at the very bottom of the trunk. There were also many other items that were pro-socialism in the box.
I believe this is a card for the Farmer-Labor Party; this party lasted from 1918-1936, so the time frame is about right. It was based on socialism.
So this certificate is for three shares of “The Oklahoma Leader Co.” $10/share. I cannot find a single piece of information on this company. I assume that the business is now defunct and the shares aren’t worth a thing.
These tickets are for a “Trades Day” in Rush Springs OK. I guess it’s for farmers to meet up and trade stuff?
We found at least four pairs of spectacles in the trunk. They were from a person named ‘Dr. Haux’
These dark ones are the coolest (and possibly the oldest).
Found this in an envelope.
John Deer Planner.
This wagon ad inside the planner proves that advertisement never changes.
And finally, a map of Northern Europe from the Centennial School Supply Co. It’s a lithograph.
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