PLUMBER FINDS 75-YEAR-OLD HIDDEN TREASURE WHILE RENOVATING GIRLS’ RESTROOM IN AN ABANDONED SCHOOL

 

“Old is Gold”. You might have come across this phrase many times in life and if not, soon you’ll be getting to hear it and it is for sure one of your friends or family member would be using this phrase some years later. Talking about “old” or “antique”, memories play a foremost role as a person the mentions it. Moreover, an actual treasure is the memories that a person once lived. What if a person got to re-live an incident in the same life? That would be more worthy than any of the treasures present on this Earth…

Dilapidated

A former school building was dilapidated when the concept of new and smart studies came into being. Students preferred to study in a school where the latest methods of teachings were used, hence, the conventional schools faced a drastic loss. One of those conventional school was Centralia High School, that experienced an abrupt shutdown.

For Sale

Since the school was not active anymore, the owners thought of selling it so that they could earn enough money. The school held a good reputation back then, but now, the school looked more like a haunted building with zero rush and lots of rumors spreading down the town. This acted as a reason for its owners to sell the school building.

Sold!

A great deal was set! The owners managed to sell the building to someone responsible. The authority made out a huge sum of money but little did they know they would miss a chance to explore their property and fetch something worth discovering.

The Pastor

A pastor named Seth Baltzell for the City Hope Church (CHC), on his social media page revealed that his life goal is “to change the world; that’s all.” The owning of that old school building was a part of the plan, hence, he inquired about its owner and felt lucky on knowing that the property was on sale.

The Change

The CHC found the selling price of the building to be affordable hence thought of purchasing it. The school building was being planned to be used in a different way, through which the rush could be brought back. The pastor planned to make it the site of CHC’s community center and church.

Untold Story

The classrooms of Centralia High School which used to be buzzing with murmurs back then in the 1940s now were being echoed because of the emptiness. The dusty tables and chairs showcased their own melancholic story, the blackboards craved for the touch of the chalk and the shelves cried to an extent that they got swollen. One could feel a pang of sadness entering a classroom that once used to be cheerful.

School In The 1940s

Centralia High School in the 1940s used to be an extremely renowned school with lots of activities happening out there. It was an educational hub promising to provide the holistic development of a student along with the basic academic syllabus. It was a celebrated school with a good number of students enrolled in it.

School To Church

People were excited to see the school getting converted into a church for it would be feasible for the crowd to reach the nearest gathering place, that is, the Church. Some people were of the opinion that it would be great if the plot on which the school was built, was considered to serve people. Moreover, people were believing in this theory.

Haunted?

The air was filled with rumors which could turn the perspective of an individual upsidedown. Since the school was not in use, some people were trying hard to convince the population that the school was haunted. The students left the school just because of that reason. The purpose of building a church was a measure to get rid of the haunting spirits.

Weave A Tale

The spark ignited and creativity of people came into light. Some people tried their level best to formulate a spooky scenario by creating a horror story according to which a girl killed herself in a classroom of this school. Her soul was still captured inside the classroom, not letting anyone study in the school.

Bury The Case

Adding on to that story, the burying of the case scenario happened. People came up with an astonishing connecting story that after the girl killed herself, the school authority and management would bury the case so that a stain could never get attached to the school’s name. This fantastic story had nothing to do with the reality though.

Ready To Work?

Before the initiation of the renovation, Baltzell was not sure whether workers would agree to work on the building or not. He was under the impression that since they were comparatively less educated, they would get influenced by the rumors regarding the building and would avoid going anywhere near to the place.

Work Started

Seth Baltzell thought it would be better if the renovation work gets started without any further delay. The rumors that were being spread could affect their plan of building the church. He wasted no more time and appointed a plumber so that he could get the washrooms fit after which he would plan for further renovation.

Spooky Vibes

The restroom assigned to the plumber was in a very run-down condition. Dust and cobwebs gave a tint of spookiness. The condition in which the restroom was, could make the people believe in the haunted stories made by people just for the sake of spreading rumors.

Restroom

The plumber appointed by Baltzell was supposed to repair the old toilets fixing it with new. After which he would receive his pay and he would be done for the day. Instead of going as per plan, the plumber caught hold of something, which diverted his whole attention, making him ponder on the stuff he actually discovered.

Daily Work

For a plumber, it is quite a mundane task to repair toilets and washbasins. But for this plumber, the experience he had on that very day turned out to be somewhat different from what he used to do earlier. He would have never thought in his wildest dream that he would pull the strings of the past.

The Treasure Room

When the word “treasure” strikes in our mind, we expect lockers, hidden rooms or antique shelves for the safekeeping of that treasure. In this case, there was no hidden room, no shelf but a restroom. So, what was in there?

The Repairing

The plumber started working on his given task. He removed one of the old toilets and opened an air vent on the wall behind the seat. While doing so, debris came out all of a sudden. The plumber examined the fallen rubble and to his surprise, it was not what he expected it to be. He found out something which would make headlines revealing a 70 years old long story!

The Hiding Place

The plumber then removed a vent behind the seat. He uncovered the hiding place of the collection of objects. He could see small items that were pressed on the air duct on the other side of the grate. When he removed the grate, more items came out slipping which perplexed the plumber.

The Treasure

The objects that plumber found were untouched by anyone for the last seven decades. The items were worth more than golds and diamonds as sentiments were attached with them which was beyond any other materialistic things. Wallets! that’s what he found. Not just two or three, but a total sum of 15.

 Owner?

On discovering these personal belongings, the plumber thought it to be wise to inform the pastor about this. He called Baltzell and showed him the worthy treasure he found. Baltzell was amazed to see that entirely different kind of treasure which belonged to the schoolgirls in the 1940s. Baltzell thought to give the wallets back to the rightful owners.

Identity Revealed

Baltzell, when opened the wallets, discovered the identity cards of the girls. It was not a piece of cake to find the owners now. A lot of changes happened in those seven decades and it might be possible that the owners were not alive. Baltzell wanted to return the found treasure to the respective owners but had no idea how to get started.

Spreading The Story

Seth Baltzell thought it to be an interesting story and this could lead him to get close to the owners. He put up this mind-blowing story on his facebook and the response he got was unexpected. The story spread like wild-fire and became the internet sensation.

Quoted Text

With the picture, the caption went like “while demoing out the old high school in Centralia Illinois recently we found a stash of what we assumed to be stolen wallets from the mid-1940s stuffed in a heat vent. While someone took the cash they left behind all the pictures, information, and other documents. I’m gonna throw some names in here of what appears to be mostly women, so these are probably maiden names. If you know if they are still living or are a family member, we would love to get it back to you!”

No Response

Though Baltzell’s post was being shared by people on Facebook, he was not getting his desired response. No single soul was able to identify the wallets. He thought that the owners were not alive anymore hence the identification process would never get successful.

Interviews

“We’ve been working on this building for six months. I’ve been kind of waiting for that really cool thing that nobody’s seen in the last 75 or 100 years to pop out”, Baltzell explained to CNN in an interview. He added, the pastor added, “I think I’ve watched one too many episodes of CSI and stuff. So I like the mystery and the intrigue of it all.” He told every detail of the discovery and was waiting for the results but, to his dismay, nothing was coming up.

The Hope

In an interview, Baltzell informed KSDK News “My Facebook post has been shared a thousand times, then two thousand, then three thousand times.” “People are commenting, so actually a lot of people reached out, and it’s relatives.”

Conclusion?

Baltzell’s treasure story became a sensation in his town. He was being asked by many media sources about the items that the plumber discovered. Adding more to the information, Baltzell told KSDK News, “The war was ending, you know, so there’s lots of things, [such as] pictures, from soldiers.” He concluded that due to the lack of valuables inside the purses, they ended up being hidden in the wall.

That Era!

Baltzell told the Miami Herald, a leading newspaper that “All the pictures seemed to be from 1945 and 1946. Best we can tell is that someone was stealing wallets and then ditched them behind the toilets in a heat vent.” The presence of those wallets was not known by anyone before their discovery in 2019.

Unaware Owner, Forgetful Culprit

Due to such a long period, Baltzell would never be able to catch or ever identify the alleged thief nor the owners of the wallets. The owners might have emigrated or passed away and could have forgotten the item which they once loved. After all, it has been roughly 75 years which is a very long time when their wallets got stolen.

Connectors

Baltzell was not ready to give up easily so he devised a plan. He could not wait to hand over the stolen wallets to their respective owners. In an interview with CNN, he revealed that “most likely, the person that’s owned the wallet is either at the end of their lifespan or no longer living. My best chance was to reconnect with one of their relatives.”

The Plan

In order to return the wallets to the owners or at least someone who was related to the owner, Baltzell turned to social media. He was hopeful enough that this time, he would trace the owners. He mentioned a list of students’ ID names in a post and added pictures of the wallets against it.

The Name Game

Baltzell posted the maiden names mentioned in the identity cards of the ladies. He was sure enough that the names he has mentioned, would now be changed since the ladies probably got married long back and would have changed their names. He thought to give it a try hence posted the names.

Involved The Relatives

Baltzell, in his post, continued, “If you know if [a wallet’s owner is] still living or are a family member, we would love to get it back to you!” He knew if he could not reach the owners, their families would take it for sure and that would be a token of remembrance for their families. His main motive was to give the 75 years old memory back to the people who deserved it.

Found One!

Baltzell’s attempts did not go in vain. After so much effort, he finally got a name that matched his list. The owner of one of those wallets was still alive. She is 89 years old. The pastor could not hold back to see the reaction of that lady on receiving her 75 years old missing item. This would be a nostalgic journey for the lady.

Betty June Sissom

One of the facebook users informed Baltzell that she was related to a woman named Betty June Sissom, one of the names mentioned in Baltzell’s list. The user claimed that Betty, in her youth, used to live in Centralia and attended the Centralia High School, which is now dysfunctional. She graduated in the year 1947 and now she presently is relocated around 90 miles away to Chesterfield, Missouri.

Back To Her!

On being aware of the relative, KSDK News took the responsibility to deliver the wallet. The Media received a green flag from Baltzell and they sent the reporters to Betty’s place along with the precious package. The news channel wanted to capture that priceless moment of reunion for their youtube channel.

Delivered!

As soon as the reporter met Betty, she handed a package to her saying, “so, the pastor wanted me to hand-deliver this to you.” The events were being recorded. Betty took the package which was nicely wrapped around a plastic covering and was trying to recall the specific item that was in there.

Unexpected

Betty never expected that she would get to see her lost wallet again ever. In an exhilarated tone, she said, “well, thank you, I’m so excited.” She unpacks the package and she finally could feel her stolen wallet. She said, “I can’t believe after all of these years that I’ve… It looks like it’s old.” Betty could still recognize that.

It Was Red!

On being asked about the wallet, Betty confidently told the reporter that, “I remember it was red.” With time, the red color faded to an orangy-brown color. Before she opened the wallet she stated, “And I remember I lost my wallet.” Her eyes were glittering the same way a child’s eyes do on getting a favorite toy!

Good Old Days

The obsolete wallet was damaged to the peripheral. The personal stuff inside the wallet was well preserved. Betty could identify everything that was present inside the wallet. A picture in black and white was kept in which a young girl was standing next to a boy. Betty informed the reporter that the girl standing in the picture was actually herself in her youth.

Little Secret

Betty relived her old days and revealed the reporter, “That’s me with a little boy by the name of Jimmy Kane, and I had a crush on him.” She added, “I must have been about in the third grade or fourth.” The picture came as a time travel for Betty. She could not believe that the photographs manage to survive seven long decades.

More To It

Betty went on exploring her old treasure and got to see more photographs of different young men. Most probably, they were her crushes. The photographs invoked teenage vibes within her. She suddenly exclaimed,  “Oh my goodness! Look at the boys’ pictures I have. It’s quite a shock, and it’s really exciting to see these pictures.”

Rejoiced

Disappointed Betty, could not find any hidden cash inside the wallet. In a joking way, she exclaimed, “They took all the money, huh?” Along with the pictures of her crushes, she found snaps of her family and friends as well. While going through the images, she found something that made her heart beat fast making her eyes full of tears.

Betty’s Hero

Betty, on reaching a special picture, lost her control over her emotions and let her tears flow like a river. The picture that she was holding was of her brother who meant a lot to her. Her beloved brother joined the army during World War II and probably passed away during the war. Betty expressed,  “I was just so glad to get that because I don’t have a picture of him.”

Another Surprise

For Betty, the wallet did not just bring happiness but came up as a sweet surprise to her. The elderly woman’s social security card was also among the personal treasures that the wallet recovered for Betty. The card was so important to her that she had been looking for it ever since it disappeared long ago in the 1940s.

The Theft Theory

Betty could never find the thief and at that time, she was not aware that the wallet was stolen. She thought that she lost it somewhere. Regarding Pastor Baltzell’s theft theory, she said, “I can’t imagine somebody stole all those wallets and put them behind the toilet in a space I didn’t even know was there.”

What Next?

Though Baltzell could not find other owners so far, his facebook post was being read by many people. He was glad that he was not alone. People were trying to find those ladies at their level best. One of the users provided obituaries for four of the women. Baltzell hoped that the remaining accessories reunite with their respective owners before its too late.

Fascinating Story

The story was so fascinating that it has been flashed on other social media pages. The comments were fabulous and the founder was being appreciated. Users bombarded the comment sections with comments like, “Better late than never” and “this is so cool! Not that they were stolen… but wow, what a find!”

A Whole Lot Of History

The wallets were not only important to the owners but also to the world as the wallets preserved not only memories but also the history. One of the Facebook users commented on the post “if family doesn’t claim [them], maybe the museum would.”

Best Wishes

It was not possible to track down the culprit since it had been seven decades. But, the owner could still be traced. Betty too hopes that her former classmates get their respective personal treasures and told CNN,  “I’m sure the other people whose wallets they found – hopefully they’re still alive – would be as excited as I am.”