Lost memories sought by 89-year-old Garretson woman

When 89-year-old Arlene Lerdal was a little girl, her dad ran a grocery store.

Each time a customer would use an old or unique coin to pay their bill, Lerdal's father would bring it home to her and she'd add it to her collection.

"I was six when her gave me the first one," Lerdal said.

Over the years, her collection grew. She added $2 bills, more coins and a few important paper records to a locked metal box she'd hoped to give to her children one day.

On Wednesday, Lerdal placed the box in the back of her Buick Enclave before turning east onto 41st Street from Summit Avenue. By the time her husband told her the back door of the Buick was unlatched and the couple pulled into Poppy's Popcorn on Spring Avenue to close it, her memories were gone.

"I really wanted to pass it along to my kids, but now I can't," Lerdal said from her home in Garretson on Friday.

She hadn't seen the contents of the box for years, because she'd lost the key. That's why she and her husband went to Bob's Lock and Key for a replacement that afternoon, and the locksmith was able to make one in minutes.

"I tried to carry the box back to her car for her, but she would have no part of that," recalls Ryan Hawks, the locksmith who helped her.

She hadn't even opened the box yet by the time she returned to see Hawks a second time.

"She wanted to know if anybody had returned the box," Hawks said. "No one has yet."

Lerdal went home, but she came back to town on Friday with a notice about her missing box. She brought it to the Shopping News first.

Jacqui Hartmann was moved to do more than place Lerdal's ad when she came in. Hartmann asked Lerdal whether she'd tried posting her ad on craigslist, an online classified website.

"She said 'Oh, dear, I don't know what that is,' " Hartmann said.

Hartmann posted the story on the Sioux Falls Online Rummage group on Facebook and got a quick response.

"I just hope someone's seen it," Hartmann said. "I really hope someone didn't find it and just pry it open."

If someone does find it, that's what they'd have to do. Either that, or they'd have to ask someone such as Hawks to make a key.

Lerdal hopes you can help her find her 84-year-old collection. If you have any idea where the metal box might be, call her at 605-594-6655 or bring it back to Bob's Lock and Key.

"If anyone brings it in, we'll hang on to it for her," Hawks said. "If someone gives it to us to make a key, we'll say 'thanks for helping us find it."

John Hult is the Reader's Watchdog reporter for Argus Leader Media. Contact him with questions and concerns at 605-331-2301, 605-370-8617, twitter.com/ArgusJHult orFacebook.com/ArgusReadersWatchdog

MEET THE WATCHDOG

Some people just like doing things the old-fashioned way.

Before the Twitters and the book of faces pixelated every other human interaction in our lives, people met for coffee to talk about the issues of the day.

Out of respect for the pre-screen name days of human interaction, I plan to post up at Kaladi's Bistro this morning to talk about whatever's on your mind.

I'll be at the shop at 26th Street and Minnesota Avenue from 8 to 11 a.m.

I sincerely hope you'll swing by, grab a coffee and tell me what you want to read about. My goal is to use the platform of the Argus Leader to get answers and explain issues on your behalf, so any help is appreciated.

— John Hult, Argus Leader