Painting by E.W. Gollings found in thrift store

Comment: I read your column in The Spokesman-Review with some regularity, and while I cannot claim to have found a real treasure in an unexpected place, I was living in Sheridan, Wyo., when a local collector found a signed and dated painting by the noted Western painter E.W. Gollings at the sales outlet of a local charity. It had been in someone's attic for many years, and when the attic was cleaned out the painting accidentally wound up at the curb, to be picked up by the Salvation Army.
When the owner found it missing he asked the Salvation Army to give it back, but they were unable to comply because they had already sold it -- for a few dollars. The new owner refused to return it because he had purchased it legally and in good faith, and as his attorney later argued, he could not be certain the original owner had not actually meant to throw it out. The situation led to a lawsuit, and the court ultimately returned the painting to the first owner. The painting was valued at $38,000 and the incident took place sometime in 2001 or 2002. -- Dale Ackels, Newport, Wash.

Answer: Why is it I just end up with another paint-by-number painting and the good stuff goes home with somebody else? Actually, I think it's wonderful that the original owner ended up with the painting.

But it's a shame something like that had to go through the courts to make it right. This kind of thing happens now and then, and we ought to put ourselves in the place of the person who lost a family heirloom or treasure. Personally, I wouldn't be able to sleep if I knew I had something that meant that much to someone else.