[JonathanGRR]

While not the most notable of stories amidst all of the MCS news, this was certainly a heartwarming read:

Thief returns train station clock, thanks Ford for believing in Detroit
Phoebe Wall Howard Detroit Free Press | June 19, 2018

A thief who stole a clock that hung on a Michigan Central Station gateway for decades in Detroit reached out to anonymously return the antique timepiece, sending Ford to an abandoned building to retrieve it.

The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn received a phone call Friday afternoon saying that the depot clock existed and wanted to "go home." Museum officials immediately contacted Ford Motor Land Development Corp. and The Ford Archives.

Within hours, text messages were exchanged with the "donor," said Dave Dubensky, chairman and CEO of Ford Land. Ford bought the train station, which closed in 1988 and became a symbol of Detroit's ruin, from the Moroun family and has plans to restore the building.

The exchange went like this:

Thief: "I only have the clock. No other material. I left it leaning against a burned-out building on Lawton. It is between Warren and Buchanan. The building is between the train tracks and 4470 Lawton. Please send two men and a truck immediately. It has been missing for over 20 years and is ready to go home. Thank you so much."

Ford Land: "Thank you! I will try to send a crew right now."

Thief: "Please have them lay it face up in the truck. The paint is very delicate. You can tell the front from the back by looking at the exposed legs."

Ford maintenance workers heading home for the day offered to stop and pick up the item in their large truck. They found the package carefully wrapped in moving blankets leaning against the wall in an overgrown lot with abandoned tires.

...

"This shows just how much emotion is attached to what we’re doing," he said. "This individual went through all this work to return the clock. We'd like to ask any others who might have a piece of history and want to return it to please call, no questions asked. We'll come get the pieces anywhere, anytime."

He provided the number for his assistant Donnell Elwood, 313-322-1092.

"We did have architects and historians familiar with these pieces," Dubensky said. "They looked at paint samples and compared the clock to pictures of the building. They validated it's real this morning."

He added, "We are so happy that this individual reached out to us to return the clock. Thank you. We are grateful to have it in our possession."
...

https://eu.freep.com/story/money/car...ock/710459002/