Steve Smolar was just going about his job, cleaning up a property on Spruce Street in Tamaqua when he stumbled across a piece of history. Literally.

"It was in the backyard, actually, and I had tripped over it a couple of times," Smolar said. "After the third time I tripped over it, I looked down and saw the corner of it.I thought it was a piece of slate the first couple times, until I saw the shininess of it."After picking up the object and brushing it off, Smolar was still not certain what it was, but figured it was interesting enough to keep."It was really, really hard to read, it was so corroded and covered and dirt," he said. "I knew there was something on there, but I didn't know what."The object sat in Smolar's garage for about three months before it caught his eye again."I started cleaning it up in the kitchen, and my wife took a really fine soft wire brush and started cleaning it," he said. "She called me and said, 'You'd better come take a look at this.'"What Smolar had was a printing plate featuring an advertisement for "The Railroad Hour," an NBC radio show that ran from 1948 to 1954.The Railroad Hour startedon the American Broadcasting System in 1948 and moved to the National Broadcasting System in 1949, where it stayed until the series ended in 1954.It was on the air at 8 p.m. Mondays.Gordon MacRae was the star with various guest stars performing each week, usually a well-known female star of the era such as Jane Powell and Doris Day. The show opened each week with the theme song, "I've Been Working on the Railroad," which is appropriate for a show sponsored by the Association of American Railroads.The backing of the piece seems to be lead, with the reversed design - featuring the words "The Railroad Hour" in large type, surrounded by pictures of singing and dancing women, a band conductor, and an image of MacRae - laid out in what appears to be brass.Smolar knew his neighbor, Dave Frederick, was a big-time rail fan, and figured he might know a little something about it. Frederick figured it could have been from the old Tamaqua Evening Courier, which had been located nearby.Frederick opted to take the plate to the Steamtown National Historical Site Museum for more information, where historian Patrick McKnight took a look."He said they'd really like to have it for their collection," Frederick said."But that's not my choice, it's Steve's."For now, though, Smolar said he'll hold on to the relic and find out more about it and "The Railroad Hour."