ST. GEORGE — Time capsules aren’t always buried in the backyard or a town square. Sometimes relics of yesteryear are hidden in a storage shed.

David Hillier, who works at a Hurricane storage business, discovered a hand-sewn quilt in an abandoned unit that features photos ironed onto it.

He turned in the quilt to the Hurricane Family History Center, and the staff hopes to reunite this homemade time capsule with its family.

Hurricane Family History Center consultant Wayne Hunter told St. George News the quilt was stored at the Ballard Storage in Hurricane. The company told him they tried to reach the former renters, but they had changed their address and could not be located.

Hillier, who cleans out the storage units after renters have moved on, also works at the family search center.

“The gentleman, Hillier, recognized the value of the quilt immediately to somebody. And our purpose is to try and find who this quilt belongs to or a relative of who this quilt belongs to,” Hunter said. “We hope to find a family member who recognizes who this blanket belongs to and we can get it to its right family.”

Hunter said the quilt features a few generations, and some members appear to have worked in the mining industry. The quilt also has the initials CWM and the dates 1937-2006 sewn on it.

Family History Center Director Terry Rix said they are in the business of keeping families together eternally. Over 70 trained volunteers help visitors search for their deceased kindred.

His wife and co-director Kristine Rix said that family’s hearts turn to each other when genealogy research is undertaken.

“Our hearts turn to our families when we do genealogy. You love your family more when you get to know them. And pictures are a part of it,” Kristine Rix said. “People need to know who they are and knowing their ancestors help them find out a little bit more about themselves.”

The Rixs also served at the family history library in Salt Lake City before coming to Hurricane Family History Center. She said people from all over the world visited the center in Salt Lake City.

“That was their first experience seeing their family come up on the screen in a census,” Terry Rix said. “And they would have tears in their eyes and say, ‘That’s my family.’”

For example, when patrons use the center’s computers, they may find a relative and be able to see what they did for their livelihood. Kristine Rix said perhaps there was a child in their family lineage they didn’t know about and people could discover more about their family’s history.

“It’s like the scripture in the Bible, Malachi 4:6, ‘And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,’” she said.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints operates the Family History Centers. The Hurricane center’s hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday: Closed except for scheduled appointments and groups.

The center also offers a variety of genealogy-related classes for free. To find out more, call Kristine Rix at 435-414-4842.

If you have any information regarding the quilt, contact Hunter at 719-360-8382

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