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In 1945, World War II was ending. The Chicago Cubs made their last appearance in the World Series. And... Max Banker wasn't born yet.
"My parents weren't even thought of, you know what I mean,” Banker said.
It seems so long ago. That's why this check from 1945 is so captivating to Banker. The Reno County Public Works employee found it in a ditch near a Buhler bridge he was working on.
"I looked at it and it said 1945 on it. I was like wow. Took some pictures and put it back in the truck so it was safe,” Banker said.
You can still make-out some of the details. It's dated August 10th, 1945. It’s made-out for $18.50 to a Dr. L-R Kirby. And, it’s signed by Susan Harder from Fairview, Oklahoma.
"There are no routing numbers, no checking number, no account numbers. It seems like everything was on a trust issue way back then. It isn’t like that nowadays,” Banker said.
Banker thinks the check was on its way to the dump. It's only a couple of miles from here. But we have a pretty good idea of where it came from. We met a 96-year-old Buhler man who knows who signed the check.
"She was my mother,” Jess Harder said.
Jess lives in Buhler. But in 1945, his family was someplace else.
"In '45 my mother was living on the edge of Fairview, Oklahoma,” Jess said.
Jess was in California.
"I was in a civilian public service camp,” Jess said. "This was a camp for conscientious objectors."
These days, Jess and his wife have been getting ready to move into a retirement center.
"I've been purging my files. But I just can't believe this check came out of my files. I just don't believe it was there,” Jess said.
But somehow, it got to a ditch outside of Buhler. And now, it's going home with Banker.
"I'm going to put it in a frame and keep it,” Banker said.
"He can have it,” Jess said.