Handwritten note found inside a rare 1935 thrift-store find has people in awe

You can find amazing things in thrift stores. Lots of junk? Sure. But every once in a while, you come across something incredible that's far more valuable than the listed secondhand price.

Even better, though more rare, are the stories. Books with letters tucked into their pages, old photographs, home videos that got lost in the shuffle. They're always a source of fascination for people who frequent thrift stores.

One lucky thrifter recently shared a cool haul on social media. At first glance, the item wasn't anything special—until they flipped it over and saw what was underneath.

The user, who posts frequently in the subreddit r/ThriftStoreHauls, posted a photo of a wooden object with three circular panels jutting out from a solid wood base. The poster believes it to be a magazine holder, but it could also be used for storing vinyl records.

On its surface, the piece is interesting but not overly remarkable outside of its exceptional craftsmanship. That is, until the poster revealed the underside of the object, which showed a short handwritten note.

The creation was signed by its creator: "W.H. Gomer, age 12, 1935"

"A 12-year-old made this?" OP wrote. Incredibly impressive, no doubt, especially in 1935 with less advanced tools and (gasp!) no YouTube tutorials to follow.

That piece of information completely changed the way viewers saw the unique find, and a fascinating discussion followed in the comments.

Hundreds of people commented, with many lamenting the fact that kids aren't taught practical skills like woodworking as often in school anymore.

"This is what’s lacking in today’s schools. So much emphasis is placed on testing well and sending kids off to the next education level. Teach kids shop, cooking, and budgeting," one person wrote.

"I get your point but between budget cuts and educational legislation there rarely is time or budget for more than a quarter class of exposure," a self-described educator wrote. "There is also the issue of attracting teachers for non-core subjects. In general, society simply has stopped valuing teachers and is now suffering the consequences. Kids see how teachers are treated and don’t view it as a valuable or desirable career."

Others were more amazed at the evidence of realized potential, and left wondering what else kids might accomplish if there weren't roadblocks in their way:

"It's amazing what kids can do given the opportunity. If you don't treat them like they can't understand, teach safety and allow the use of tools, they develop skills," a person wrote.

"Kids are a lot more capable than we give them credit for," said another, while acknowledging Gomer probably had help from a teacher at skill on the piece.

Practical life skills, including woodworking, suffered from heavy cuts during the No Child Left Behind era. But many of these courses are coming back.

The emphasis on standardized testing scores in the early 2000s left little room in curriculums for more practical skills like home economics, financial literacy, nutrition, and wood or metal shop.

But the hyper-focus on academics doesn't serve kids well, research has found. The initiative boosted testing scores in some areas, but at the expense of art, music, and life-skills. It turns out that "teaching to the test" didn't have the results some thought it would. Not only do classes like cooking or woodshop teach kids useful, evergreen skills, they give their brains a boost:

"For some students, the classes are a break from their academics-heavy schedules and can be a place where lessons — say about fractions or chemistry — can sink in through exposure to those same concepts in the kitchen," writes NPR.

NPR also reports that, for the most part, these practical skills-based classes are on the rise again post-No Child Left Behind. Modern Machine Shop magazine agrees.

One commenter on the thread sang the praises of such a trend: "My son took 2 years of woodworking as a high school elective. We got some great trays, cutting boards, guitar stands, bookcases, side tables and about a dozen pens. His teacher gave him a lathe for graduation. Wood rules!!"

Teaching kids practical skills goes far beyond how useful they are in the real world. Photo by Craft Kitties on Unsplash

Some clever Internet sleuths even ran Ancestry searches on W.H. Gomer—or Walter H. Gomer.

According to the records, he was born in San Pedro, California and would have indeed been 12 in 1935. He was married to Rosemary Brundin for 70 years before passing away in 2015 at the incredible age of 92.

One commenter summed up the beauty of Gomer's piece perfectly: "I think he would be very pleased to know someone loved it enough to buy it 90 years later."