Storm gives canceled check a 53-mile ride

Tuesday's tornado left a trail of high winds and destruction across southern Illinois that stretched from Perryville, Missouri, to eastern White County, Illinois.

On Wednesday, Heather Vancil and her 4-year-old daughter, Hailey, were cleaning up their Du Quoin, Illinois yard and piecing together the family's trampoline that had been ripped apart. Hailey picked up a strange piece of paper, and showed it her mom.

That paper was a canceled check, in near-pristine condition, written Feb. 12, 1956, to Kirk & Val's Standard Service. The $2.50 check was drawn on the Bank of Perryville account of Dale G. Huber. Perryville, Missouri and Du Quoin are about 53 miles apart.

Here, things get even stranger.

Heather's husband, Bailey, is a grain salesman for Stone Seed. He thought the name sounded familiar. As it turns out, Bailey's friend and co-worker, David Retherford of Advance, Missouri, actually sold seed to Dale Huber's son, Al. Huber's farm was destroyed in the storm.

The Vancils plan to meet with Al Huber to return this little piece of history.

"Dale has passed away," Heather said, adding the couple thought his son would like to have the check back.

Hailey is not quite aware of the significance of her find.

"We've explained to her what it is," Heather said, "but she's only 4 so she doesn't really understand. She just didn't know what to think."

Suburbanites might remember that when a F-4 tornado hit Washington, Illinois in November of 2013, an Arlington Heights man found a blank check in his front yard, torn out of the checkbook of a Washington man whose house was severely damaged. The distance from Washington to Arlington Heights is about 150 miles.