Awhile back I was hunting a soccer field for coins and jewelry. I dug this surprise, not expecting anything old on the site. It's a 1938 Kentucky driver's license. When I got home, not sure why, but I did some research of the area and found a website for the restoration of a still standing circa 1900 'coloreds only' segregated elementary school in very close proximity to where I found it.
Still not sure what made me call the number on the website. A lady answered and listened to my out of the blue explanation of my find. Amazingly, she said there may be someone who could help me with further research, and she invited me to a meeting of the preservation committee members the following night, literally walking distance from my house.
I showed up, and she introduced me. I explained what I'd found and where. A very elderly gentleman and his wife were at the far end of the table. When I finished, the old man asked me to repeat where I'd found it. He seemed pretty excited (for an old man).
I told him, and he said: "I grew up in a house that stood where that soccer field is now. In the '30s and early '40's my wife and I both went to the school we're now trying to preserve. I had an uncle, my father's brother, who was a moonshiner who lived in Kentucky. He had a whiskey route that took him to Norfolk. He's spend several days at our house after making his run."
The old man and his wife both cried when I walked to the end of the table and put the license in his hand. I've since tried to get some verification on the owner from Kentucky, but so far no response. But we have no doubt is belonged to his uncle.
Turns out the old man now owns the property the school is on. He gave me cart blanche to hunt it, but that hasn't turned up much. Like much of Chesapeake, it's quite swampy. And like most of the poorer areas of the past, there is a ton of trash in the ground.
Regardless, that find still stands out as one of my best.
Still not sure what made me call the number on the website. A lady answered and listened to my out of the blue explanation of my find. Amazingly, she said there may be someone who could help me with further research, and she invited me to a meeting of the preservation committee members the following night, literally walking distance from my house.
I showed up, and she introduced me. I explained what I'd found and where. A very elderly gentleman and his wife were at the far end of the table. When I finished, the old man asked me to repeat where I'd found it. He seemed pretty excited (for an old man).
I told him, and he said: "I grew up in a house that stood where that soccer field is now. In the '30s and early '40's my wife and I both went to the school we're now trying to preserve. I had an uncle, my father's brother, who was a moonshiner who lived in Kentucky. He had a whiskey route that took him to Norfolk. He's spend several days at our house after making his run."
The old man and his wife both cried when I walked to the end of the table and put the license in his hand. I've since tried to get some verification on the owner from Kentucky, but so far no response. But we have no doubt is belonged to his uncle.
Turns out the old man now owns the property the school is on. He gave me cart blanche to hunt it, but that hasn't turned up much. Like much of Chesapeake, it's quite swampy. And like most of the poorer areas of the past, there is a ton of trash in the ground.
Regardless, that find still stands out as one of my best.
