During home renovations to his recently purchased property in Cape May, New Jersey, Kyle M. Anderson anticipated that his landscapers might discover some odds items after neighbors had warned him that the previous tenant had a penchant for burying objects — like the large urinal Anderson found casually embedded deep within his backyard. No, really.
Anderson, the father of Kyle F. Anderson who now plays for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, told NewJersey.com that he “knew we’d find stuff. When I bought the house back in October, the neighbor on the other side had warned me (the former owner) used to bury a lot of stuff. The yard is lumpy and uneven and when the landscapers came, I advised them there will be things buried back there.”
What he did not anticipate was that some of the buried items would prove to be lethal. Anderson’s landscapers unearthed not one, not two, but three WWII-era artillery shells in the span of 48 hours.
It isn’t unusual to find old munitions in Cape May, according to Police Chief Dekon Fashaw.
“We get this all the time,” he told the Daily News. “Cape May was riddled with base housing and bases in the early 1900s.”
Two were found on March 10 and safely detonated by the Atlantic City Bomb Squad at a nearby beach, according to police.
Anderson’s backyard wasn’t done giving up its secrets, however.
To his amazement, a third shell was discovered the following day. It too, was safely detonated.
The previous homeowner, John Trolli, died last August at the age of 89. According to his obituary, Trolli served in the Marine Corps from 1952 to 1954 — receiving the National Defense Service Medal for his service.
It is surmised that the Marine buried the ordnances sometime during his tenancy. “He used to bury things he couldn’t throw away,” said Anderson.
Hey, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
