When George Arcioni began renovating his kitchen last summer, he didn’t expect to find a stack of letters hidden in the wall behind his oven.
The handwritten letters date back to 1944 and are all addressed to John Buechler. Based on the notes, Buechler was serving in the Royal Canadian Navy at the time, and was stationed at HMCS Cornwallis – a naval training base in Deep Brook, N.S.
“This is like a time capsule from 80 years ago,” said Joelle Arcioni, George’s daughter.
“It’s a little piece of history.”
The Arcioni’s have lived in the one-and-a-half storey house on Home Street since the early 1980s. Based on city records, it was built in 1930.
Once Joelle was able to sift through the more than 20 letters, she set her sights on finding Buechler’s family to pass on what they left behind.
“We’re hoping to hopefully connect with either children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren,” she said.
Some …