INDIANA, USA — Though tornadoes had ripped through Indiana the night before, James Peterec opened his door to a relatively normal April morning last Saturday.
His hometown of Camby had been spared most of the damage endured by other towns, particularly in Sullivan and Owen counties.
Aside from a few sticks and twigs scattered where they shouldn't be, nothing seemed particularly askance in his front yard.
"It was a beautiful sky. Then, I looked down at the sidewalk," Peterec told 13News.
Then he saw it: two faces staring up at him from the sidewalk.
"There was this photo. A black-and-white photo. So, this must be somebody's, because number one was black, white. It was dated," Peterec said.
The photo showed the faces of two people who stared stoically back into the lens. The man wore a top hat, the woman a fine polka dot dress. That the photo was black and white, coupled with the presence of an older looking car in the background, made Peterson believe this photo may be very old.
And, he guessed, it was probably cherished to whoever lost it.
"Might be pretty valuable to somebody, like a keepsake," Peterec said.
Considering the photograph had very likely whorled onto his sidewalk by way of several devastating storms, Peterec marveled that it was still in fantastic shape, save for a small tear.
"Just seems a typical family shot of the driveway, with two folks in it. Might be mom and dad or grandma, grandpa," Peterec said.
No signatures on the back gave any clues to who might own it. Peterec believes it is likely irreplaceable.
"Probably came from a long way away. Got sucked up and finally dropped," Peterec said.
He knows the photograph could have flown in from anywhere. Communities throughout the Midwest and southern parts of the United States sought refuge from a deluge of devastating storms the same night Indiana did.
Peterec is keen to try and find whoever it is. If they live close enough, he's willing to drive it to them himself.
"I could drive it over to their house, just for fun. I'm sure they'd like to have it," Peterec said.
