A Christmas present for a Cleveland security guard has been in the works for 55 years
CLEVELAND, OH December 23 2018- A Christmas gift for a Cleveland security guard came in the form of a photograph that left her and her 79-year-old mother in shock.
Tonya Durden has worked at JACK Cleveland Casino for four years.
The casino is located in Public Square in the former Higbee’s Department Store building. When JACK Casino acquired the Higbee’s property they also inherited the former department store’s historical collection of photographs.
A historic photo in Jack’s Casino, formerly Higbee’s, startled Tonya Durden, a security guard. The photo showed her mother, Allie May Quarals, shopping 55-years-ago.
When the Cleveland casino decided to decorate they choose to print a photo from 1963 and display it for the holidays.
“I had passed this photo several times, I’ve been working here almost four years, I would see the picture but never pay it any mind,” Durden said.
This year the security guard took a closer look at the image. “I looked at the picture, and I looked at the picture, and said, that is my mother in the middle of this picture.”
Allie May Quarals, 79, Durden’s mother, remembers coming to Higbee’s to shop. “I loved coming downtown, especially at Christmas time,” Quarals said.
Quarals knew it was her and provided the casino with images of her younger self.
“I am a part of history,” Quarals said about appearing in the historical photograph.
The 79-year-old looked at herself from 55 years ago and could only say she was, “…overwhelmed, I can’t believe it,” she said. “but, I am still here.”
Durden will get a copy of the image for herself and she’s said she intends to frame it and hang it in her home.
“She has a place in history,” Durden said of her mother.
What are the odds, for Durden finding her mother still keeping an eye on her after all these years was like winning a jackpot
.Cleveland19
