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Landscapers find 64-year-old hand print in cement

Handprint

Gonny Meyer decided to have some landscaping done in the front of her house, but had no idea she would find a piece of history left behind by a 7-year-old girl. When workers were directed to use old bricks that had been piled behind the outdoor fireplace in the backyard, to use as a new walkway, they discovered a small slab of cement with tiny hand and footprints, and marked with the name Rebecca, her age and the year 1947.

Meyer, 87, and originally from Holland, has lived in the house for 52 years, having raised her two children, Josie Meyer, and Liz Girfore, never knowing the artifact existed until it was accidently discovered by the landscaping workers 64 years later. Meyer then contacted family friend, Regina Provenzano, whose family owned Provenzano’s Grocery, and asked if she could find out more information about the little girl.

It turns out the girl is Rebecca “Becca” Peckham, now 70, and owner of Daddy’s Rich Bitz Boutique located at 5880 State St. in Saginaw. In an emotional visit to the house on Glendale, in Saginaw Township, Becca, her brother, Jim McClellan of Mac’s Windows and Doors, also located on State St., and their mother, Laverne, who turns 100 in November, reminisced about family life and childhood antics.

“I would put Becca on a chair in front of the kitchen sink, wrap a towel around her waist, and let her help me do the dishes,” LaVerne said. “She was only about 3-years-old.”

Becca and Jim remembered how their father, who originally built the house, had brought home some old parachutes, and the kids created a circus in the backyard. “Kids from all over the neighborhood would come and play here,” Jim said.

Gonny was happy to give the piece back to Becca, knowing it brought back many childhood memories.


 

 

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