Renovators discover builder’s bottled messages in wall

Added to museum collection

EIBERGEN, the Netherlands - Two construction workers who were building an addition to a daycare centre in this eastern Dutch town of Eibergen were surprised to find a swing top beer bottle lodged in the wall. Upon closer inspection, the pair pulled a hand-written memo, dated 1971, from the bottle, stating the name and address of carpenter Tinus Beunk, who had helped build the school.

The two workers contacted the sons of the since long deceased carpenter to present them with the mementoes. The Beunks donated the bottle with its unusual content to the local De Scheper museum for safekeeping as part of its collection of area heritage items.

It is not the first bottled message hidden by Beunk Sr. that has surfaced. He routinely placed such message containers in walls he helped build.

The Beunks find it ironic that beer bottles play such a role in their father’s message system, since he did not like beer at all. They suspect he used the bottles to take coffee or tea along to work.

Since Beuk’s employer Blankvoort, a contractor, built many buildings in surrounding towns, the sons think that more of these mementoes from the past will turn up with future renovations and other addition projects.