History is all around us, especially when we talk about road history. Proof of that showed up in an unexpected place last year for Alex, age 8 of Chelsea.
Action shot of Alex, age 8, of Chelsea looking for buried treasure in his yard.
Alex loves to hunt for buried treasure. He even received a metal detector for his last birthday. Last fall, Alex found an old set of keys with “W.C.R.C.” tags buried in his yard. Luckily, Alex and his family didn’t have to search too hard to figure out the acronym, he lives near the Washtenaw County Road Commission (WCRC) District 3 yard in Chelsea.
Alex’s grandpa, John, contacted Commissioner Doug Fuller, chair of the Washtenaw County Board of County Road Commissioners, who was thrilled with Alex’s rediscovered piece of history.
According to Commissioner Fuller, “The find was particularly special this year because 2019 marks WCRC’s 100th anniversary. WCRC has been an important part of the community for a century and these keys offer a small peek into just one aspect of our work.”
“We believe these keys belonged to a night watchman who worked at the Chelsea Yard,” shared Emily Kizer, WCRC communications manager, “He would have used these keys during his nightly patrols to mark where he had been on his patrol.” The date of the keys is unknown.
Historic watchman keys found by Alex
The keys are now on loan to WCRC and will be included in the WCRC’s 100th Anniversary exhibit at the Washtenaw County Historical Society this fall.
Alex has found many other cool “finds” including class rings and historic coins. Everyone at WCRC wants to thank Alex for loaning his treasure for the 100th anniversary exhibit.
Keep finding!
Click here to check out other stories celebrating WCRC’s 100th Anniversary.
