Something more than 100 years old was discovered in the north Valley: A Merced Fire Department badge from 1916.
This badge has great significance to the city of Merced. It belonged to a volunteer firefighter and on Thursday, it was returned to his family.
"One of my neighbors found a Merced fire badge that was dated 1916 and had the fella's name on it," says Lloyd Pareira, Merced County Supervisor for District 4.
Pareira says when he first saw this badge, he was puzzled because he didn't know where to start looking for the owner.
"So, Sarah Lim at the county courthouse did research and figured out who it was and stayed on it and found out he still has family living in the area," he explained.
Lim works for the Merced County Courthouse Museum. She says she never gave up and eventually was able to put the pieces together and contact a relative.
"He was so excited because he told me he heard stories from his grandma about his great grandfather being a fireman. A volunteer firefighter for the city of Merced," Lim says.