DO YOU know what's hiding under your floorboards?

Kim Walters wasn't surprised to find a bunch of 70 and 80-year-old newspapers under hers while pulling up the last of her Gympie home's carpet and vinyl flooring, but one of the articles made for an unbelievable coincidence.

A story about colour-blindness from a circa 1948 edition of The Sunday Mail featured details not only about her grandfather Frank Tickle's ailment but also her father's, who had been rejected admission to work in the railway department as a result of his condition.

RELATED STORY

Stats on 'vulnerable' Gympie kids show a need for support

Perhaps the spookiest element to Mrs Walters' discovery was that the article had been hidden underneath her floor for more than 30 years after she moved in with her husband.

"It was just bizarre because we'd pulled all the carpet up 30 years ago, and we've been in the house for 30 years and that's just been sitting there ... in that one little confined space under the hearth,” she explained.

"It's unbelievable, I'm amazed.

"What's the probability? It's probably a billion to one.

"Who knows what's under everybody's floorboards in Gympie?

"Lots of people have newspapers, because they line (the floors) with newspaper and then they put the vinyl down, and then they lay the carpet on top.

"It's common for people to have newspapers, but not common to find an article about your father and grandfather.”

The Mail article told of Mr Tickle discovering he was colour-blind after years of "succesfully handling telephone cables carrying up to 50 pairs of conductors, all of different colours”.

Mrs Walters said she probably wouldn't have found the article had it not been for her choice to research the newspapers for possible content to include in her upcoming G150-sponsored historical book When We Were Young, a collaborative effort with Glenbo Craig and Jane Gunn.

"The probability of us buying this house and there being this one little bit we never looked at really makes you wonder.”

Among the other items found included a first edition Women's Weekly, and an amusing article recommending people smoke 11 cigarettes a day.

When We Were Young, a collection of stories from locals living in yesteryear, is due out in October.