Decades-old dresser holds old memories for new owner to discover

Tim Skelly has been refurbishing furniture since 1995, a hobby that began when he bought his first house in Ottawa.

He's refinished and flipped dressers, cabinets and a variety of other pieces over the years, and often comes across items such as papers and pens that have been left behind by previous owners.

Skelly recently acquired a "top hat" or gentleman's dresser, and this time he found something different.

"I was pulling out the drawers of this very odd piece of furniture, I flipped it around to start sanding and saw this handwriting on the bottom," Skelly said.

Tim Skelly, seen here at his home workshop, has been refurbishing furniture pieces he buys at auction for about 30 years. (Submitted by Tim Skelly)

He found five handwritten notes on the underside of the smallest drawer of the dresser, the oldest dating back to 1942.

"It's kind of like one of those little treasure hunts. It's so interesting. They're all relatively personal notes," Skelly said.

The notes range from comments about the weather to details about daily family life. All but one are written in pencil and difficult to read, except for the most recent note left on June 10, 1982.

"In the last one in '82, it was from an individual who was saying that he was getting married that year," Skelly said, "He wrote on it that he hoped somebody in 40 years would read his note on this piece of furniture."

As it turned out, Skelly discovered the message 42 years later.

Tim Skelly bought this 'top hat' or gentleman's dresser at auction in Winchester, Ont., where he gets most of his antique pieces. He thinks it was likely crafted in the 1930s, and suspects the dresser has circulated among different owners in the Ottawa area ever since. (Submitted by Tim Skelly )

The man who wrote the note signed it and inscribed an address in Britannia, five minutes away from where Skelly has lived for over 30 years.

Out of curiosity, he tried to find what looks like "Richard Lueduss" online to make the connection, but couldn't track him down.

CBC News also did some digging and found that Richard's surname was in fact Lueders. (Wood is tough to write on with a pen.)

Richard Lueders is now 62 and living just outside Almonte, Ont.

"It had been such a long time ago, I had completely forgotten about that. And I was a little pleasantly surprised, actually." Lueders told CBC.

"The fact that I had written that I hope somebody reads this in 40 years, and that's exactly what happened?"

Richard Lueders left this note in 1982 while living in Ottawa's Britannia neighbourhood. (Submitted by Tim Skelly)

As far as Lueders can remember, the dresser either belonged to his in-laws or he bought it at a flea market. He, too, has a knack for refinishing old furniture and was in the process of fixing up the dresser when he came across the notes left by its previous owners.

"When I pulled the drawer out to refinish it, I noticed that someone had written on it and so I thought, well, I'll just add my own little note to it," Lueders recalled.

Skelly left his own note in response to Lueders. (Submitted by Tim Skelly)

Skelly has now left his own note responding to Lueders.

Dated April 6, 2024, he wrote: "Just over 40 years, Richard! Refinishing this dresser for my office in Lanark, Ontario. Bought from auction in Winchester, ON. May you live on beyond me."

Skelly has decided to paint over the notes with a protective clear coat in hopes that the dresser's next owner will keep the decades-old conversation going.