Episode 4: The Tale of Lot 180
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by Kenny Malone
A tinker, a tailor, a soldier’s things– his rifle, his boots full of rocks
And this one is for bravery, and this one is for me
And everything’s a dollar in this box.
– Tom Waits
South Florida has long been a retirees’ paradise, and also a final resting place. But when people die, their family doesn’t always show up to gather their belongings.
So every year Florida’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property auctions off orphaned items from safety deposit boxes, like these keepsakes, grouped together in Lot 180.
- Lot 180 salt shakers/ Kenny Malone
In this particular case though– the belongs of Udavilla Rutherford, who died at age 91– a reporter couldn’t let it go.
Under the Sun and WLRN Miami Herald News reporter Kenny Malone had little more than a collection of salt shakers to go by, and a picture of a man and a woman in the snow. But with help from the Bureau’s data base, he launched a final effort to track down Rutherford’s family and piece together her life.
- Man and woman in the snow/ Kenny Malone
What he found were disconnected lines, wrong numbers, and then a few faded memories. Listen to what Malone discovered, and perhaps more importantly, how much of her story was lost.
“And then Rutherford’s priceless memorabilia was given a price,” says Malone of the auction, “$650.”
Tags: audio, Episode 4, history, Kenny Malone, podcast
Just listened to Lot 180, it was sad but interesting. Has me wondering today, about the future!
When I heard the story I thought of how can a family be so not a family. The granddaughter didn’t know her brother’s number or where her father, Udavilla’s son, lived. He claimed to be an only child. And neither she nor her father showed any “love” towards Udavilla. Was Udavilla a bad person? Did their family go through something horrible? Did Udavilla’s Alzheimer cause the rest of the family to forget about each other? The couple in the photo look sincerely happy.
Early on a Thursday morning, After dropping off the kids. I turn on the car radio about to go through all of my pre-set stations to find a good song. I check 93.1 as I always do and I see what is on and I am listening to the story on lot 180. It is the perfect lenght for me to hear it in it’s entirety before I have to get out of the car, go in the house and figure out what is on today’s agenda. I love the way the story is pieced together, how the author asked every question that I would want answered if some had said, I wonder who placed these shakers in a safe deposit box? It was such a pleasant story that I was happy to know that the first thing on my agenda was to give my opinion on this article. Next, the laundry.
Great production, living history and makes you think about what we leave behind.Call to grand daughter the best!
Thanks
I am a psychiatrist. I have heard many sad, cruel, gross, painful and even bloody stories. I don’t know why this touched me more than most of them. Thanks for the moment of reflection and a portion of the two months of your life.
Dust in the wind — all we are is dust in the wind
This is possibly one of the sadest stories I have ever heard… I first listened to it days ago and it still haunts my thoughts. How could a life come to be reduced to just some trinkets and family members that
had an absolute lack of connection or regard for
their family member?
It begs the question as to what kind of life she led that culminated in such nothingness, where not her family members, but instead a complete stranger would be the one to give a bit of meaning to her life in the end.
Thanks for your efforts in creating such a profoundly moving story. And to Mrs. Udavilla Rutherford, I will remember you, your winter portrait taken in happier days, and yes, your salt and pepper shakers…
I loved this story, but I wonder why those items were so important to Udavilla that she placed them in a safe deposit box. That part of the story died with her, so we’re left to wonder.
Just listened to this story on line and I have tears in my eyes making it a bit hard to type. What a sad commentary on this family, and what a “mitzvah” (good deed) Kenny Malone and Under the Sun did by introducing us to Udavilla Rutherford. Kenny, the two months you spent on this story were not wasted. It was an act of kindness and generosity and I’m glad to have gotten to know a little bit of Ms. Rutherford. Thank you.