A classic movie theater, built in the 1920s, in Nevada, Iowa has stood the test of time. Back in the 1930s and 1940s, it would have been a focal point of teenaged social life, with the local youth gathering at the town’s movie theater for a night out.
Decades later a savvy entrepreneur named Larry Sloan eventually purchased the decaying building and renovated it. He envisaged transforming the old cinema into a live performance comedy club, called the Talent Factory. However, it needed a lot of work done before it could be reopened.
However, when they were doing some renovations, workers came across a piece of history hidden beneath the floorboards of the third floor.
At first, they had no idea how old the plastic wallet was until they carefully opened it up and examined its contents. Everything in the wallet pointed to a Boy Scout named Clare McIntosh who had lost his wallet in 1944. Larry wanted to see if the owner of these pieces of history was still alive and immediately started looking for him.
The wallet contained several worn-out photos as well as a pocket calendar dated 1944 and one clue that gave Sloan some insight into the owner’s identity.
“I was really shocked to find a hand-written ID card. It indicated the owner was Clare McIntosh of Colo. In case of emergency, to contact Mrs. R.E. McIntosh of Colo,” he told the Ames Tribune. “And his telephone number was 8. I get a kick out of that every time I say it.”
As a former investigator, Larry was able to track down 85-year-old Clare McIntosh and discovered that he still lived nearby, just outside Des Moines. When Larry caught up with the elderly gentleman, he told him he had found his wallet. McIntosh was confused, he said he hadn’t lost his wallet. But the penny dropped when Larry handed over the plastic billfold.
McIntosh was thrilled to see his wallet and plans to keep its contents. “I’m just going to cherish them,” he said when asked what he planned to do with the newly found items.
After McIntosh got over his initial amazement, the two men shared a few laughs and they looked at each item, enjoying a trip down memory lane.
Watch the video report below for more details:
Sources: AWM, Ames Tribune
