Old friend resurfaces — 43 years later By BRIANNA LUSK, Staff Writer
Monday, June 18, 2007 10:43 PM PDT
JOSELITO VILLERO PHOTO
Items found in Epigmenio Sanchez's wallet at the old Crest Theater in El Centro. The Brawley resident lost the wallet 43 years ago.
Between the folds of crumbling brown leather are fragments of a Brawley man’s past: A few family photos, old pay stubs and a couple of department store credit cards he hasn’t seen for more than 40 years.
The wallet and its contents, save for some dust, were preserved in an unlikely place: jammed between the metal casings of a radiator at the Crest Theater in El Centro.
The wallet was discovered Friday by construction workers renovating the theater, which has been vacant for years. The radiator, too heavy for even four men to lift, was sawed apart.
“It was just there. It fell to the balcony floor,” said Joey Imperial, who owns the theater and is turning it into a multi-entertainment complex called The Spot.
Inside the wallet was some history of Sanchez’s life along with some valuable documents: The birth certificate he carried on his trips to Mexico to verify he was a U.S. citizen, a Sears credit card and a photo of his daughter Sandy in pigtails.
When a reporter called trying to track down the rightful owner of the wallet, Tillie Sanchez, his wife, laughed.
“I can’t believe someone found it,” Tillie said. “Yes, that’s my husband.”
It was 1964. It was the year Epigmenio, better known around town as Junior, left his job as a truck driver and began to work for the city of Brawley. He retired in 2000 from the parks and recreation department. The couple used to drop off their children, Sandy, Eddie and David, at a relative’s house before going to the movies for the day.
“We wanted to get away from the kids for a while,” Tillie said. “That was our little escape.”
The couple will celebrate 50 years of marriage this August.
Sandy Sanchez looked down at her photo found in her dad’s long-lost wallet and smiled.
“This is me,” she said. “I can’t believe it. We were so young then.”
The Sanchezes still live in the house in Brawley they moved into in 1961. And although Junior Sanchez said he never expected to see the wallet again, he’s glad it was found.
“I’m so surprised,” he said.
His daughter said the fact the wallet wasn’t just thrown away means a lot to the family.
“It’s nice to know there’s still honest people out there,” Sandy Sanchez said.
Imperial, who has been working at his new establishment, The Spot, for months, said the wallet is the only thing that has been recovered during the cleanup and renovation. Imperial said he plans to open a concert venue, sports bar and lounge area in the building with the first phase opening by August.
Meanwhile, his construction crew will keep an eye out for more relics.
“I think it’s interesting,” Imperial said. “I’m glad to give it back to the family. It’s something that has meaning to them.”
For Junior Sanchez, the recovery of the wallet lost more than 40 years ago is a reminder of the fulfilled life he has had over the years.
" I love amazing stories. I wonder what else they've found in that old building. Good pre-publicity for the bar; maybe they'll save a copy of the story to display somewhere in the establishment. "
blusk wrote on Jun 19, 2007 11:34 AM:
" There was no money found in the wallet. Sanchez said he didn't remember whether he had any cash in the wallet that night.
Brianna, staff writer "
barwain wrote on Jun 19, 2007 9:46 AM:
" was there any money? "
chevr1967 wrote on Jun 19, 2007 9:31 AM:
" It probably got stripped and sold for parts. "
jsyi wrote on Jun 19, 2007 2:55 AM:
" Maybe someone will find my bicycle someone stole from me a few years back....that would be great..... "
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berimbau_one wrote on Jun 19, 2007 1:28 PM: