Lost card collection leads to outpouring of giving

It was a big day for 8-year-old Eli Mehlhaff.

The second grader, twin brother Ethan and their classmates at Scotland Elementary School were headed to Sioux Falls earlier this month for a trip to the Great Plains Zoo and a picnic lunch at Sertoma Park.

“They were excited,” their mom, Justice Mehlhaff, said, adding the trip had been postponed last year because of the pandemic.

It’s about a 75-mile drive, so the students were allowed to bring something on the bus to keep them occupied.

That was an easy call for the twins, who “live and breathe football,” Mehlhaff said.

So, of course, they brought part of their football card collection. In Eli’s case, that was a Ziploc bag with 45 of his favorite cards and a ticket stub from his one and only Minnesota Vikings game.

The plan was to keep them on the bus, “and, of course, Eli has to have his cards,” his mom continued.

Can you tell where this is heading yet?

Eli’s teacher realized it as they were heading home.

“She called right away,” Mehlhaff said.

The cards were gone, lost somewhere at the park. Turning the bus around wasn’t an option.

Eli’s sister, Darrica Amundson, who lives in Sioux Falls, headed to Sertoma Park to search, “looked everywhere and couldn’t find the baggie,” she said.

When he got home, Eli “was crushed,” Mehlhaff said. “I don’t think he even wanted to tell me. He was devastated.”

But Darrica wasn’t done.

She retold the story on a couple of Facebook groups.

“This collection has no large value, but to him, it was priceless,” she wrote.

And then, social media proved it power.

“There were so many offers to help,” she said. “People reached out to say they had been through the park and had looked; someone’s family worked for Sertoma and was going to see if anything was turned in.”

Nothing turned up.

And then, that all changed.

“The outpouring has been incredible,” Mehlhaff said.

Nearly daily, the Mehlhaffs’ mail now includes football cards.

“He’s so excited,” his mom said. “But I think, even more so, he’s floored by where they come from – Texas, Ohio, Illinois – it’s just crazy the reach. And for (most) they all have personal notes in there, and that’s the best for me. They’re excited young kids are still looking at football cards.”

Eli even received some signed ones — including one of his favorites, Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen.

Someone else went to Rainbow Comics, Cards & Collectibles to buy Eli a gift card.

When he told owner Dave McElroy why, the store matched the amount on the card, gave Eli other gifts and said to let them know when he came in to use the card.

That was Saturday, when the family canvassed the store.

The store also gave him sleeves to better display all the new additions.

But the most meaningful contribution to the collection came from just a short drive away after a family from nearby Parkston reached out.

They’d lost their son at age 28. The collection had been a hobby for him and his father, and the family gifted it to the Mehlhaff twins.

“We shared some tears, and the boys got to look through the cards with his dad,” Mehlhaff said. “These cards go way back to the ’80s and ’90s, so it’s quite a collection.”

It’s quite the story too. It’s also now a joint card collection, in fairness to twin Ethan who reminds the family he was responsible and brought his cards home.

“There’s plenty, that’s for sure,” said their mom. “Just the lesson they learned is incredible – that you can do something nice for someone, and it sure goes a long way. A big thank you to everybody.”