“I know if it was my family Bible, I would want it."
Bonnyville resident Jackie Peterkin is hoping to reunite an antique Bible with its rightful family after purchasing it at a garage sale 23 years ago.
“I’ve always been thinking about the family, but my life has been all over the place. Now that I’m finally back here, it just feels like it needs to be done,” she said about trying to find the 1885 Bible’s original owners so many years later.
As she stood in her kitchen delicately turning the pages of the book, Peterkin described coming across the Bible.
When her children were little, Peterkin lived in the Town of Bonnyville, and would often take them to garage sales. It was while browsing a local family’s things that she came across the old book.
“I love antiques, anything old has a story, and we found the Bible and I just had to have it, which is pretty silly because it wasn’t a necessity. We were all about necessity, and that Bible, I don’t know, I just had to have it,” detailed Peterkin.
Over the years, Peterkin found herself moving from one place to another, and through every trip the Bible was carefully packed among other household items.
“I’ve had lots of things throughout life and I’ve given them away mostly, but this has always stuck with me.”
She added, “It just felt like it should go back to where it belongs, so I held onto it.”
Now, after so many years, Peterkin has found herself back in Bonnyville and wonders if the Bible has something to do with it.
“I’m back here for a reason, I don’t know why, aside from my kids being close by. But the chances of me coming back here were pretty slim. Now (the Bible and I) are both here,” exclaimed Peterkin. “It's come home."
Peterkin is hopeful she can reunite the 1885 Holy Bible with its family, but isn’t quite sure how to go about it.
“I wish I could remember the address of where I bought it, but it was so long ago and I don’t know what the chances are of those people even being in that same area,” she said.
So far, she has relied on social media, hoping someone will have just the right connection or will recognize a family member from the numerous photographs found in the back of the Bible.
“Weirder things have happened,” noted Peterkin.
From finding lost wedding rings growing on carrots in the garden, to people finding their birth parents, Peterkin said, “If that can happen, I think this can happen too.”
In addition to antique family photos, the book contains pages for birth, marriage, and death listings.
While most of the spaces remain blank, there is one name written under the notices of death: Margaret Amelia, who passed away the same year the Bible was made, 1885.
Peterkin has been told that it’s likely the first and middle name of the person who passed away. She is just wondering why the other pages have remained untouched.
“I don’t know why that is. Maybe it was passed from family to family and no one really did anything with it, but it would be nice if it did go back to that family for them to continue putting names in there to be passed on.”
Among the Old and New Testament are hand-drawn images and pages dedicated to biblical lessons.
Peterkin said, “It’s so beautiful. The artwork, the stories, it’s more than a Bible, it has so much to learn.”
Although she hasn’t read it from cover-to-cover, Peterkin has flipped through the Bible’s delicate pages.
“You’re always scared to break it because it’s so huge, fragile, and old... After keeping something for that long you don’t want to destroy it,” she said.
It’s the Bible’s unique nature, age, and history that have Peterkin longing to return it to the family.
“I think it would be precious to a family if they still have their family beliefs,” exclaimed Peterkin. “I know if it were ours, one of my kids would have it and treasure it… They keep things.”
Peterkin is asking anyone who recognizes the Bible or has a tip on how to locate the family to reach out to her on social media under her maiden name: Jacqueline Johansson.
“Hopefully someone can do something.”
