Returning Heirlooms to Heirs

Lt. Col. Marion W. Gooding

One of the very best parts of being an Antiques/Collectibles dealer is being able to take an item from a place where it is undervalued and unloved and place it with someone who takes true joy in the ownership.

Even better is the very rare occasion when we can take a lost heirloom and return it home.  Last year, I had that opportunity.

I was wandering through a garage sale, when I noticed two World War II footlockers.  I asked how much they wanted for them, was told $10 a piece, and I bought them.

One of two identical footlockers

The footlockers were well marked, so I decided to research the owner.  Imagine my surprise to discover that Judge Marion W. Gooding was well-known, well-respected, and held his own place in Jacksonville’s history.

He was a decorated World War II veteran.

He was  a well respected upstanding member of the Jacksonville community.

And…in August of 1956, he was the Judge who, after seeing a show and a near riot in Orlando, told a young headliner at the Florida Theatre that if he gyrated, he would be jailed.  That young man was Elvis Presley.

It wasn’t difficult to find the judge’s sons…who had misplaced the footlockers 30 years earlier.  They were amazed and astounded to discover that not only were the footlockers still in Jacksonville, but that we would, of course!, return them to the family.

One of the sons, Mack Gooding (a veteran himself) met us and we were able to return the lockers to him.  He sent us the newspaper article and the picture of his father so that we could share this tale.  Oh, and he insisted on giving us back the $20 we paid.

Ask any antique dealer and they will tell you, the joy of the hunt, is a huge part of what makes us drag ourselves out of bed at 6:00 a.m. every Saturday morning.  It is knowing that you could discover something amazing around the next corner.  And on occasion, you get to send that amazing item home.