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A Russian Weathervane Discovery
 The
story begins in 1991 when a repair crew removed a 12-foot tall bronze
weathervane from the 400 foot gilt copper spire of the Peter
and Paul cathedral for restoration. The weathervane is in the form of a
flying angel holding a cross. While working on the spectacular
weathervane a lemonade bottle containing a note inside was discovered.
The message had been hidden in the vane 40 years
earlier by a previous repair crew. They restored the gilding and
repaired the bearing system.
Due to a strict deadline the 1957 crew was forced to make the repairs in
place and was unable to lower the immense vane to the ground where the
repairs could be performed comfortably and correctly. "The job is done
badly because the bosses did not care about us", the letter reads.
"They paid little. The deadlines were short." The current crew placed a
letter of their own in the vane and airlifted the vane to the spire. The
contents of the letter will remain secret until the next crew discovers
it. Many such interesting time capsules and objects are discovered in
old vanes.
To read of more such discoveries read the book "Weathervane
Secrets" by Mabel E. Reavely. See our
BOOKS section.
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