Village Craftsmen

170 Howard Street 

The Homer & Aliph Howard Home

Click on photo below for an introduction to our rehabilitation project:

A record of work done in March, 2004:

While removing plywood from the walls, and pulling up layers of old linoleum that had been laid on the floors we discovered several interesting artifacts.

Dale & Jaren found an old coin in the kitchen. It is a 10 Franc coin with the inscriptions "Maroc" and "Empire Cherifien."  Curiously, the date on the coin reads 1366.  Certain that the coin could not be anywhere close to 600 years old, I did a little research and learned that the date is reckoned by the Islamic (lunar) calendar.  Converting to the Western, Gregorian, calendar gives a date between November, 1946 and November, 1947.

From 1912 to 1956, Morocco (Maroc) was under French (and Spanish) protection.  The only coins issued  were those for the French Protectorate, which was typically shown in French as "Empire Cherifien."

How the coin came to be stuck under the linoleum in the kitchen is still a mystery.

Old Moroccan coin found during the rehabilitation:

We also discovered a number of old newspaper pages that were used under the linoleum for added protection from drafts.  Most of these date from the mid to late1940's and are from Greensboro, North Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida newspapers.

Greensboro Daily News, May 6, 1948:

The fragile papers are tattered and discolored, so it will take a while to sort through them, but they document a period when "sturdy, leather" oxford shoes sold for $4.97 a pair, "cotton knit" T-shirts were 47 cents each, and a set of six 9-oz. glass tumblers "with delightful floral decorations that won't wash off" could be had for 5 cents. 

Go here for links to ongoing rehabilitation work on the Homer & Aliph Howard home.

Check back periodically for additional photos and more information about the progress of this project.