ELLSWORTH, Maine — A Hancock woman who purchased a large Rogers Brothers silverware set from a local man whose family had fallen on hard times financially, has decided the family heirloom should be returned to its rightful owner.
“I contacted the man [shortly] after I bought it and said, ‘It’s got a good home,’ but it never felt like it was mine. It’s not mine,” Michelle Racicot said of the cutlery she found listed on the Ellsworth area barter, swap and sell Facebook page about a year and a half ago.
Racicot recently posted another message on the page looking for information about the man who sold her the heirloom silverware, in hopes of finding him to give the set back.
The set belonged to the grandmother of the man’s wife, Racicot recalled.
“It was kind of an emotional moment,” she said Thursday of the private sale that occurred at Dunkin’ Donuts. “I could tell it was hard for him to give up. I could tell he was sad.”
“I told him I could help set him up with an appraiser, but he said he didn’t have time,” Racicot said later. “I paid $60. One fork goes for $7 on Ebay, and there are probably 100 pieces in there.”
The Rogers Brothers silver flatware, a line still made by International Silver Co., came in a worn wooden box that opens on the top and has a drawer for other items.
“I love it,” Racicot said. “I’ve always wanted a fancy silverware set.”
Even so, the fact the family had to sell an heirloom to survive has been weighing on her mind ever since.
“It just didn’t feel right,” Racicot said.
So she decided to find the seller.
“I spent hours and hours going through all my old messages and I couldn’t find him,” Racicot said.
That’s when she went back to Facebook readers with her plea.
She believes the man is in his 50s and remembers that he lived on the Bangor Road, which is Route 1A.
Several dozen people have shared or liked her Facebook post about searching for the man, she said.
“I’ve been flooded,” Racicot said. “I know we’re going to find him.”