100 Years Later, Quarryman’s Trunk Reveals Treasures

One hundred years ago yesterday, a Stony Creek granite quarry worker named Matt Mattson put a copy of the New Haven Union dated April 17, 1912, in his sturdy wooden trunk. The newspaper detailed the aftermath of an extraordinary event, the sinking of the Titanic, and he wanted to preserve the newspaper. So he placed it on the top level of his trunk along with his life’s belongings. Then he closed the lid.

Yesterday in the soon-to-be dedicated Stony Creek Museum, not far from where Mattson lived and worked at the quarry, the trunk’s lid was raised.

As family and museum officials looked on in a semi-circle around the trunk, Maureen DaRos, the museum’s curator, lifted the contents one by one and placed them in trays. It was a rare archeological dig — - only this one was without bones. 

The trunk was discovered years ago by Peter Brainerd, a local businessman, in his old hay and horse barn that was near the Brainerd Hotel. At the time, neither Brainerd nor anyone else knew the name of the owner of the trunk or anything about its contents.

Brainerd kept the trunk for safekeeping, eventually deeding it to the museum. 

It arrived at the museum last week. It was then that Maureen DaRos noticed the date on the newspaper along with hints as to the trunk’s original owner. She and her mother, Kathleen, connected the dots.

It turned out that the trunk’s owner was Matthew Mattson, who came to Stony Creek from Finland with his wife, Susanna, in 1888, became a quarryman, perhaps a carpenter, and lived in boarding houses nearby. DaRos contacted Mattson’s three grand children, Willy, Ron and Muriel, now retired and living on a farm in the Creek their grandfather once owned.

As brothers Ron and Willy Mattson and their 90-year-old aunt Eileen (pictured) and their extended families looked on in amazement, DaRos and museum officials began the job of unearthing the trunk, placing its contents into various categories. Until a few days ago, the family had no idea of its existence. 

The first item on the top of the trunk was the 100-year-old newspaper, looking in very good shape, considering how long it had been packed. It is clear Mattson, a history buff, wanted it front and center on top of the trunk, because another item was found inside the trunk. It was dated 1913.

The Mattson family snapped photos using digital cameras as the long gone New Haven Union newspaper was opened. Inside was a photo of mourners lined up in is New York City. The date: April 17, 1912, two days after the Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg. Nearby was an ad on the page that showed a sale for ​“Percale and Gingham house dresses.” The price: 79 cents.

Next DaRos, the daughter of First Selectman Unk DaRos and a senior researcher at the Peabody Museum in New Haven, began the process of uncovering and separating the contents of the trunk, a trunk containing everything from tools to boots to a fancy suit for special occasions. At the time the newspaper was put in the trunk in 1912, Matthew Mattson was 54 years old. He would live in Stony Creek for the next 31 years, but he never retrieved his trunk. Here she is with Mattson’s grandson Ron.

Asked what he learned about his grandfather from the contents of the trunk, Willy Mattson, now 80, said: ​“He was quite a Dapper Dan. He had a great collection of ties and bowties.” His brother, Ron, 79, agreed.

His cousin. Eileen Rossiter, who at 90 is the oldest member of the family, loved the ties as well. ​“I thought it was very, very interesting. He was my grandfather. And the last few years of his life he lived with us so we got to know him pretty well. He did everything in Finnish. He spoke in Finnish and he wrote and read in Finnish. He spoke broken English, enough so we could understand.”

Matthew Mattson died in 1943 at the age of 85.

Willy Mattson said his grandfather, Matt Mattson, and his grandmother, Susanna Lemponen, had 13 children, but only three lived to adulthood. The others all died when they were babies. The family brought photos of their grandparents and propped them above the trunk. 

As the layers of the trunk unfolded, the newspapers in which they were wrapped, written in English, in Hebrew, in Finnish, showed a range of years, starting with 1903 and going to 1913. There were also several books, including a large history book written in Finnish.

Several items drew sighs of wonderment from the dozen people in the room. 

First came an array of bow ties and long thin ties that Matt Mattson liked to wear.

There were shirts, especially a long blue one that was in very good condition considering how long it had been in the trunk. There was even a brand new shirt, unopened that says Matt on it. It was purchased from a New Haven store. 

There were men’s vests, other shirts, sleepwear and boots. There were stripped outside cuffs to dress up a jacket. And even a pair of sleeve black garters, typically placed around arms at funerals.

There was blue chalk to mark the granite. Brenda Milkofsky, the museum’s consultant for exhibits, was delighted when the blue chalk appeared. ​“I’ve been waiting for chalk!” she said, smiling. Mattson may have worked at the Quarry as a carpenter. 

For reading, it seems that Mattson like history books as well as more modern ones. Uncovered was a small book whose title is: ​“Are You? The Successful Man….”

There was a packet for Patterson tuxedo tobacco and a packet for chewing tobacco.

On the health side there were boxes marked for liver pills and gout and a trial treatment ​“magic remedy” whose contents were gone.

Then came a special cigar box. Opened carefully, it showed a special quarry tag and ribbon that said: ​“Quarry Workers International Union, branch #5.” It was wrapped very carefully. Soon the Quarry worker’s official constitution was unveiled to oohs and ahs from the audience.

Mattson kept a variety of tools, including stone to sharpen knives, a scale that holds up to 50 pounds and a variety of paintbrushes, small and medium in size, and well used. 

The trunk also included photographs, Valentine’s Day cards, Christmas and Easter cards, table linens and dishes in the trunk. 

Letters showed that Mattson had a post office box, #163 and that he also lived at 2 School St, one block away from the museum. 

Everywhere was evidence of daily living in Stony Creek. For example there was a grocery book with Mattson’s name on it, where items were noted and bills paid at the end of the month. There were also stacks of paid bills. There were receipts from the local Brainerd pharmacy whose re-creation is now underway on the first floor of the museum.

Now that the Mattson family is involved in the life of the trunk, Maureen DaRos is hopeful that more information will be learned as the museum prepares for its dedication. Judith Robison, the president of the museum and Ted Ells, co-chair, said the museum will be dedicated on Sunday, May 27. The address is 84 Thimble Islands Rd.

Looking over the contents of the trunk, Maureen DaRos said she was most impressed by its preservation. ​“There was some damage… but the linens, the silk, the socks, the colors of these fabrics, all remained true. And the paper preservation was in very good shape.”

Why Mattson did not reclaim his trunk is still a mystery. Back then, quarrymen often traveled from state to state in the Northeast looking for work and they took their trunk, their home away from home, with them. For some reason, known only to him, Matt Mattson left his trunk behind, unclaimed for decades. The lock, it turned out, was inside the trunk.

Now its contents will be on display sometime in the future as a chapter in the history of Stony Creek. And Matt Mattson, who wanted to be remembered — ​“think of me,” one of his elegant cups said, will be.

###