While most of the talk in recent days revolved around the Subway Series between the Yankees and Mets and the history of baseball in New York, the American Red Cross, located at 195 Willis Avenue in Mineola, was uncovering their own history.

During the recent demolition of the former location of the American Red Cross, construction workers found a cornerstone, which contained a time capsule buried in 1928, the year the building was erected.

The nostalgic discovery was unexpected so it truly represented a hidden treasure of Red Cross history as well as a look back at American history in the days when Herbert Hoover captured the presidency of the United States.

The seeds for the discovery were planted when 264 Old Country Road, the building which served as the previous location for the Nassau County American Red Cross, was demolished in order to create room for a Winthrop-University Hospital project. The current home of the Red Cross is located on Willis Avenue.

Bryan Anthony, director of financial development for the American Red Cross in Nassau County, asked the project manager for some bricks of the building to have as a remembrance.

Rather than just saving bricks, Anthony also asked if there was anything else that could be salvaged that might be of significance to the Red Cross and was told there was a cornerstone, bearing the year '1928.' Anthony gladly accepted the cornerstone, which also contained a box imbedded within it. "He [the project manager] said if there's a million dollars in it, all I want is ten thousand and I said if there's a million dollars in it, I'll give you eleven thousand," Anthony said, relating a humorous conversation he had with the project manager of the building's demolition.

Anthony then pried the copper box, which was only approximately nine by 12 inches, open with a screwdriver and a hammer. Although he didn't find a million dollars, he did find a treasure of Red Cross history as well as memorabilia such as newspapers from 1928.

"We had no idea any of this was in there. We were ready to junk the whole thing," said Anthony. "We had no clue."

Amazingly, contained within the small box were numerous items such as a copy of the Nassau Daily Review from Nov. 8, 1928 and editions of the New York Herald Tribune and New York World from Nov. 7, 1928. The papers proclaimed Herbert Hoover winner of the presidential election. Among some of the other items found were a copy of the Junior Red Cross News, a Red Cross membership poster, coins from 1924 and 1925, and the Red Cross Summary Report from the Valley Flood of 1927. The box also contained an inventory sheet listing all the items of the box, which stated that it was sealed by Braun Brothers on November 10, 1928.

Director of public relations for American Red Cross in Nassau County, Devera Lynn, said the Red Cross would look to preserve the items so that the public can view them. The cornerstone is already displayed in the lobby of the building at 195 Willis Avenue. "The history of Red Cross is amazing and it is such a great part of Long Island," she said. "We want people to feel like they stepped back in time."

Mineola Historical Society President Jack Hehman and village trustee Elizabeth Conlon stopped by the Red Cross building to view the items. They were thoroughly impressed by the discovery, how well the items were preserved and how so much was able to fit in a small box.

The items will be added to other historic artifacts such as uniforms, pins and posters and flags such as the first Red Cross flag to be raised on any vessel of the U.S. Navy, all contained within the walls of the Red Cross building. To an organization that believes in preserving its rich heritage of humanity and compassion, finding that old copper box was like finding a treasure chest. "It really gives us a sense of pride to be a part of this discovery," said Lynn.