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Iowa Man Reunited With a Wallet He Lost 71 Years Ago

It was stuck in the floorboards of an old movie theater.

Larry Sloan owns the Talent Factor Theater in Nevada, Iowa. It’s a transformed 1920s movie house that now hosts comedy shows. While working on renovations he spotted a wallet lodged in the floorboards of the theater’s third story. “It’s plastic, so the first thing that came to my mind is this must be a child’s wallet,” Sloan says. “I had no idea how old it would be.”


A clue about the wallet’s age came from a 1944 pocket calendar wedged inside. There were also ration stamps from World War II, a Boy Scout card, old photos, and a handwritten ID with the name Clare McIntosh. Sloan thought the chances of finding the wallet’s owner would be a tough task.

Sloan, a former investigator, used his skills and eventually tracked down a Clare McIntosh who is 85 years old and living just outside of Des Moines about 45 minutes away. Sloan called McIntosh and said, “Think we’ve found your wallet,” and McIntosh replied, “I haven’t lost my wallet.” McIntosh’s initial thought was that someone was playing a practical joke, but after arriving at the theater, he realized it was indeed the wallet he lost at 15. When asked what he’s going to do with his newly returned possessions, McIntosh said, “I’m just going to kinda cherish them, I think.”

(H/T KCCI)

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