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In the midst of the excitement of the North Dakota Class B girls basketball tournament last March, Erika Kyllo was bummed. She'd lost her billfold.
The tournament was held at the Fargo Civic Center. The people there? Many. The chances of recovering the billfold? This side of zilch.
Erika, 14, of Arthur, N.D., and an eighth-grader at Northern Cass School at the time, had about $15 in her billfold, plus gift cards worth $60. All apparently gone.
And then Mike and Geneva Knudson, Mayville, N.D., received an e-mail from Lonny Hanson, Fargo. He knew where the billfold was.
Honest people
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Mike used to live in Galesburg, N.D. So did Lonny. So Lonny sent the e-mail, asking if Mike knew an Erika Kyllo. Someone had found her billfold and turned it into the Civic's office.
A staffer there found IDs in the billfold indicating that the owner was from the Galesburg area. She told Lonny about it.
Lonny, who works in maintenance for Fargo's buildings and grounds, said hey, he used to live in that area (near Blanchard) and he knew people around there. So he played detective and sent that e-mail to the Knudsons.
Sure, Mike and Geneva knew Erika's dad, Kirby Kyllo, Casselton, N.D. Kirby works for KRS Transport, Fargo, and Geneva once was married to the late father of the owner of KRS.
Meanwhile, the Civic's office contacted Erika's school and said the billfold had been found.
The school called Erika's mother, Jennifer Degerness. Jennifer's husband (and Erika's stepfather) Joel Degerness, went to the Civic and got the billfold.
So when Erika came home from school, two weeks after she lost the billfold, there it was - money, gift cards and all - sitting on the table.
"She couldn't believe it was found," Jennifer says.
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The big point of this story is, as Jennifer says, "There are a lot of good deeds done by many people that don't get noticed."
This good deed, by an unknown person who turned in the billfold, and by Lonny Hanson, the Civic and the school, is one that was.
If you have an item of interest for this column, mail it to Neighbors, The Forum, Box 2020, Fargo, N.D. 58107; fax it to 241-5487; or e-mail blind@forumcomm.com
