In each issue this year, we're highlighting one artifact from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's historical collections.
This container and its contents were recovered from a wall at Bonham State Park in 2012, during restoration of the boathouse constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The boathouse was built in the mid-to late 1930s, but all objects in this cardboard cylinder date to the 1940s.
The container is a cardboard can with a tin bottom and screw-on lid. Contents include: two well-used No. 2 pencils, twisted copper wire, two fittings (one brass and one Bakelite) and an empty book of matches with “Marvin A. Smith Co.” printed on the cover.
It is unknown how or why this wonderful little assemblage ended up in the wall of the boathouse at Bonham State Park. Was it a repair kit that a worker inadvertently set down and then was encased in the wall? Or is it a time capsule — a collection of items someone had in his or her pocket and then placed in the wall for future discovery? Either way, it's a fascinating find!
