Purse Missing Since 1959 Found Inside School Floors: "Unintentional Time Capsule"
Going through pictures of loved ones can often be a fun and moving feeling while taking a walk down memory lane. But what if an item belonging to a loved one thought to be lost long ago randomly turned up?
Such was the case earlier this month when a Texas contractor found an old purse wedged inside some floor boards at a building where he was working.
Armando Rodriguez had been hired to do some renovation work for League City Elementary School outside of Houston, Texas.
Rodriguez was surprised by his find. The lost purse had been there since 1959, and had been lost by a 13-year-old girl, according to Inside Edition.
He passed the historical treasure along to Richard Lewis, who is connected to the area’s local historical society.
Rodriguez said he thought that being a part of getting the purse returned to the original owner would be “a wonderful feeling.”
After the local news did a report about the purse, Lewis received several emails about the lost item, one of which was from a family member of the original owner.
The owner of the purse, Andrea Beverly Williams, had passed away in 2015, but her nine children are still living, and three daughters were living in the area.
The sisters connected about the purse, and paid Lewis a visit.
Everyone enjoyed a sweet time of walking down memory lane as the daughters went through the contents of the purse.
They found old classmate photos, an old photo of their grandfather, notes, an invitation to a Valentine’s dance, a love note, a manicure set, and a civil defense card that included instructions on what to do in the event of a nuclear attack.
There was also a calendar, which allowed sisters Rhonda, Deborah and Andrea to conclude that the purse had been lost right around April of 1959, because the calendar didn’t have any notes written on it after that month.
“It’s such an unintentional time capsule of her,” Rhonda said.
The sisters decided that their mom’s purse and its contents should be donated to the historical society as a way for others to enjoy a bit of history.
