AirVenture Lost and Found is Popular Place

By Rose Dorcey

A bewildered looking EAA'er walks up to the AirVenture Lost and Found building. With a wink and a smile, booth volunteer Phillip Curtiss asks the man, "What did you lose, or are you lost?"

"Did someone turn in a watch this morning?"

"What kind of watch was it?"

"A Rolex, silver and gold."

Curtiss walks over to a plastic bin labeled watches. No Rolex is found, but Curtiss tells the man, "Come back later, it will probably show up."

A 13-year EAA AirVenture Volunteer from Gaylord (MI), Curtiss sits down with a cup of coffee and a warm donut brought in by a fellow Lost & Found volunteer. He says the most rewarding part of his job is meeting the good souls who drop off items they have found. He tells of the "amazing thanks" they receive when folks find their valuables.

"Yesterday, a guy came in looking for his passport. Inside the passport case were several hundred dollars and some credit cards. I thought he was going to jump over the counter and kiss me when I gave it to him."

All in a day's work for a Lost and Found Volunteer, but the "great bunch of guys" (as Curtiss calls them) who donate their time to the building serve other purposes as well. The Lost and Found building is co-located with Information.

"Our Number One job here is for information," said Curtiss. "We give a lot of directions, and we process thousands of people through here. We hear all kinds of questions."

"Where can we get breakfast?"
"Did you find a single key?"
"I lost my weekly pass wristband, did someone turn it in?"
"Can you tell me how to get to the post office?"
"Have you found my child?"

The most gratifying of reunions, according to Curtiss, are when mother and child are reunited. "Did you ever see the hug of a mother who has just been reunited with their kid?" he asks, as his voice trails off.

"Sometimes, for various reasons," Curtiss continued, "It takes a while for parents to realize their kids are lost. We'll have kids in here for as much as a couple of hours. We give them a soda, and a treat, and try to comfort them. We could use a good grandma-volunteer here, for those times when kids need someone." Fortunately, there have been no lost kids as of Day Three.

The Lost and Found Founder is Ray Fiset, Quebec City, Canada. A member with 50 years of service to EAA, Fiset said he couldn't afford the $5 membership fees in the early years. He went to fly-ins in Rockford, and then Oshkosh, and in 1970, he started the first "official" Lost and Found.

"It was just a small building, just big enough for my wheelchair. It was a lot easier back then, when there weren't so many people. Now, we have people coming up with new lost items all the time."

Almost on cue, a man rushes up and asks if an I-Pod has been found. "That's a new one," Fiset says.

The most unusual of items? Fiset remembers a few glass eyes and dentures through the years. His favorite story is of a man who lost his upper plate.

"One year, someone turned in an upper plate. No one claimed it, but I saved it in a bin until the next year. Sure enough, a guy came in and asked for one."

Fiset figured he would have some fun with the man, never thinking it could be his, so he showed him last year's chompers. To Fiset's surprise, he picked it up, put it in and walked off with them.

"He didn't even clean them, or wipe them off, he just put them in and said, 'yep, these are mine,'" Fiset recalled.

The competent crew at the AirVenture Lost and Found/Information booth gives good natured advice and directions to those who visit.

"Where's a good place to watch the Air Show," someone asks. "Look up," Curtiss tells them, but then goes on to offer his wisdom.

As I'm about to leave the friendly gang of volunteers, a man comes to the building, located just beneath the OSH control tower and shares what he has found - a silver and gold Rolex watch.

Another good soul at AirVenture.

FMI: www.airventure.org