Tombstone In The Rafters?

Interesting things often turn up when a building is remodeled, toys and old clothing are found in some forgotten corner, and coins and small objects have been known to slip through floors. But a tombstone in the rafters? That's what workers at the Johnson, Johnson & Roy Inc. building found recently at the 105-year-old building at 301-305 N. Main. The tombstone was found on rafters between the ceiling of the bottom floor and the floor of the second story. Workmen found it after removing some burnt wood on the ceiling. Part of the engraving on the approximately 3-foot-long stone was obscured by the three rafters, but this much could be determined: It belonged to a "Rupert Pelb . . ." (last two letters obscured), who died on April 17, (last number also obscured), at age 46. Unobscured engraving below the name and date read, "So Jesus . . . God's only son . . . passed through the grave." How and why the stone got there is anybody's guess, but the answer may lie "with the buildings original owner, Dr. Alvin W. Chase. He had the building constructed in 1864 for "Dr. Chase's Steam Printing Plant," in which he published a recipe book. Dr. Chase may have used the tombstone as a ''printers stone", a publishing term referring to a hard, flat surface on which printers used to assemble type. This still fails to take into account, however, how the tombstone carne to be placed on the rafters and encased in wood. In 1869, Dr. Chase sold the building to Rice A. Beal who continued to publish the recipe book (which eventually sold more than 4,000,000 copies) and he later begin puwishing the Arm Arbor Courier fiom the building. Since then, the miliing at various times has been used as a watch company store, wholesale house, grocery store and warehouse. Johnson, Johnson & Rcy Inc., a landscaping architectural firm, bought the building last summer and moved i.s headquarters to the second floor. The remodeling duridg which the tombstone was iound will, eventually, turn the bottom floor into an arcada of shops. Clarence Roy, an officer of the firm, says the tombstone ] probably will be lcft in place.