A man battling a terminal illness was reunited on Tuesday with a long-lost item from his childhood.
Donald Nylund grew up in Raymore and purchased an old mail wagon in the 1950s when he was 14 years old.
"I offered him 50 cents for it. Of course, back then, 50 cents was a lot more money than it is now," he explained. "I gave him everything in my pocket for it."
He ended up paying 75 cents for it.
Over time, Nylund lost track of the mail wagon.
Now battling a terminal illness and with every day growing in significance, he has often thought about the old item.
"It's been 60 years and I still think about it," he told 41 Action News. "It was historical and it was an art piece to me."
Decades later, Nylund was able to track down the wagon after a conversation with a friend.
"I was talking to an insurance man here in town and he said, 'I know where that is,'" the Raymore native explained. "I thought my heart was going to explode. I said, 'I got to get up there and see it.'"
The Community Bank of Raymore put the local historical artifact on display in its lobby after reconstructing and restoring it years ago.
On Tuesday, Nylund got to see the wagon for the first time since he was a teenager.
"It brings me back to my childhood," he said, shortly after coming into the lobby and seeing it.
The Raymore Historical Society told 41 Action News that the mail wagon dates back to 1901, and it was the first to be put into service west of the Mississippi River.
After getting to see the wagon on Tuesday, Nylund hoped having it on display at the bank would bring joy to families.
"It's really a piece of art," he said. "I'm glad I got to see it one last time."
Crossroads Hospice through the "Gift of a Day" program helped make Tuesday's reunion possible.
