It’s not unusual to take a walk in Erie on a windy day and see papers and debris blowing across streets and sidewalks. You don’t think twice about what’s been flying in the air. It’s just garbage. Right?
Jimmy Huegel saw plenty of garbage during his walk two years ago in the area of West 24th and Cherry Streets in Erie. However, one tough piece of paper lying face-up on the sidewalk caught his eye.
“I couldn’t help but notice it had a pencil drawing on it,” remembers Jimmy. “I picked it up. Immediately I could tell, Hey, this doesn’t look like trash to me.”
It was a drawing of two young African American people. One Male. One female. The man is dressed in a military uniform. The woman appears to be wearing a hat that one would wear in the military. The artist signed the drawing with the name William Alston and the date 3-1-15. The drawing was in good shape when Jimmy picked it up except it did have tire marks on the back of the paper. Jimmy decided to take the drawing home believing it might mean something to someone.
“The drawing was so excellent. The shading. At first glance, it looked like a loving portrait of somebody’s parents,” Jimmy recalls.
Jimmy tried to find out anything he could about the artist, William Alston, in hopes he could reunite the drawing with its owner if indeed the artwork was lost.
“I couldn’t find anybody by that name in Erie. So, I gave up,” says Jimmy with a shrug.
However, the mystery about the drawing still lingers with Jimmy. He wants to know everything he can about the subjects of the pencil sketching and the artist. Jimmy is an artist himself. He’s a songwriter and used to do pencil drawing in his younger days. He thinks someone might want to be reunited with this drawing. He hopes someone can provide him with some clues.
“I hear stories on TV about people finding something that it turns out to be a long-lost item that someone was really happy to get back. That probably isn’t the case,” says Jimmy. “But, what if?”
Anyone with any information on the mystery drawing is invited to contact me, John Last, here at Erie News Now. The best way to get in contact with me is by e-mail. My e-mail is jlast@erienewsnow.com.