Can you solve locket mystery?
The boy in the black and white photo looks to be about eight or nine. The sun is glinting off his light-coloured hair and he’s looking happily at someone out of the frame. On the other side of the locket is a girl who is maybe 14, wearing a jacket over a white blouse, her dark hair framing a smiling face.
Barb Decoteau, owner of Thrifty Bee’s thrift shop on Esquimalt Road, wants to identify the boy and the girl in the locket, and return what might be a heirloom to its rightful owner. The vintage locket, which looks to be from the 1950s, was donated along with costume jewelry in the past month, but Decoteau doesn’t know who brought it in.
In her 13 years owning the shop, Decoteau has seen many old family photos in aging gold frames, but there was something about the locket that told her she couldn’t just sell it.
“Usually when it’s a locket, it’s a memento,” she said. “A locket is personal.”
The locket is propped up near the till, in the hopes one of her many customers might recognize the boy and the girl.
“I’m hoping someone will look at it and say ‘I know that face,’ ” Decoteau said. “Maybe they’ll see themselves or see a grandparent.”
Customers have taken photos of the locket and circulated it on social media.
There might be something written on the back of the photos — maybe a name, a date or a place — but Decoteau doesn’t want to pull them out of the frame for fear that they’ll rip.
“We just want it to go back to the family.”
• Anyone who thinks they can solve the mystery of the gold locket can email kderosa@timescolonist.com.