It was not nearly as elaborate or hyped as when reporter Geraldo Rivera opened legendary gangster Al Capone’s secret Chicago vault on live television in 1986, but the results were about the same ? no bodies, no treasure, just junk.
Members of the fire department, township clerk’s office and the local media gathered Dec. 18 to find out exactly what, if anything, was inside a small brick building located in the Oxford Township cemetery on the north side of W. Burdick St.
It had been locked for many years and nobody had a key.
Oxford Community Television’s cameras were rolling as Fire Lt. Brad Horton used a large pair of bolt-cutters to snip through the first lock on an iron gate, then a power saw to slice through a second lock securing a metal door, creating a shower of sparks.
All anxious eyes were focused on the metal door as it was opened wide to reveal . . . a bunch of miscellaneous supplies and equipment.
Bags of urea, old tires, cans of motor oil, broken rakes and lumber were among the items discovered.
All in all, it was extremely uneventful, but the mystery was solved and now work on the building can proceed.
The township is in the process of having a new standing seam metal roof put on the building, which was constructed in 1887 and is considered a unique bit of local history that’s worth preserving for future generations.
‘It’s definitely a piece you don’t want to lose,? said township Clerk Curtis Wright. ‘They don’t build buildings like this anymore. One-hundred-twenty-seven years old and it’s still standing.?
Other than needing a new roof and some other minor work, Wright said, ‘I would say it’s in good shape.?
Contrary to what some might think, the building is not a mausoleum, though it did house bodies at one time.
Deputy Clerk Susan McCullough said years ago, the building was used as temporary cold storage for bodies during the winter. When the ground thawed in the spring, they would be buried in the cemetery.
Judging by the shelves inside, it was capable of holding 12 bodies.
In the cemetery on the south side of W. Burdick St., the township is having a new hot tar roof put on the mausoleum.
Built in 1924, the 2,100-square-foot mausoleum contains 152 crypts. Of those, 89 are occupied, according to Wright.
The interior of the mausoleum is a spectacular mixture of marble fronts on each of the crypts and terrazzo flooring.
The names carved into the crypt fronts read like a veritable who’s who of Oxford history. Drahner, Crawford, Meriam ? names that now adorn street signs and buildings line the inside of the mausoleum.
There’s even a crypt for E. Henry Congdon, who owned and published the Oxford Leader from 1898 to 1955.
Wright said the township is spending approximately $16,000 to redo both roofs.