A California woman has ben reunited with a wallet she lost 46 years ago after an employee working on a remodel of the historic Majestic Ventura Theater found it inside a crawl space.
Tom Stevens told the Ventura County Star that the red wallet contained clues about its owner and how long ago it had been lost: a California driver's license for Colleen Distin that expired in 1976, a 1973 Grateful Dead concert ticket, and several old photos.
Stevens said he searched Distin's name online, but couldn't find anything and his boss suggested he post about it on the theater's Facebook page.
See posts, photos and more on Facebook.
"Does anyone know Colleen Distin?" the post, dated May 25, said.
"While doing some maintenance we have found her wallet. To give you an idea how long ago it was lost, there is a concert ticket from 1973 and a drivers license that expired in 1976. There are a bunch of pictures of people, and they are super cool from that era also. Someone may want them. So if you are, or if you know Colleen, drop us a line and we will have it here for you!"
The post quickly got to Distin, who responded within hours that the wallet was hers. "It's me. I tried calling earlier. This is amazing!" she wrote.
Distin, who grew up in Ventura and still lives there, told the Star she lost the wallet in 1975 while on a date at what was then a movie theater.
She said she remembers placing her purse on the theater's floor and later discovered it had a hole big enough to lose her wallet through. At the time, the wallet held a $200 check and family photos.
"I remember calling the next day when I realized it was gone," she wrote on Facebook. "They said no one found it, but to call back, which I did. I had a little bit of money in it, but I needed it at the time. I have no idea what photos are in there, or which concert ticket since I did go to many back then. Such a blast from the past, and a good one I must say."
She added: "I'm grateful and will be by in a couple days to retrieve my time capsule."
Distin told KCAL-TV that she was "shaking" as she looked through the wallet.
Inside was poetry and notes, photographs of her high school friends, and a $5 ticket to a Grateful Dead concert at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Also inside the wallet, Distin found photos of her mother, who she said died a couple of years ago. "It's really wonderful, it really is," she said.
Stevens and Distin have been contacted for additional comment.
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