Big E’s lost and found working to reunite hundreds of items with their owners

WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Cleanup has begun following this year’s run of The Big E and the lost and found office is busier than ever.

“We see everything. We’ve got keys, we’ve got clothes, we’ve got credit cards, we have licenses,” said Theresa Williams, assistant manager of The Big E Lost People Center.

The 2022 Big E is now over, but the lost and found office is still very active. Among the items yet to be claimed include shoes, a stroller, jewelry, and even teeth.

Williams is currently in her sixteenth year working at The Big E lost and found. She told Western Mass News throughout this year’s fair, there were 1,027 lost items, which is up slightly from 1,001 items last year. As of Monday morning, at least a third of this year’s items have been claimed, but there is a process for how this works.

Once an item is turned in, the staff writes a card for it and catalogs the information in the computer. The item’s card is then matched with a number. Once someone claims that object, the back of the card is filled out and that information is placed into the computer. There is also a process for a person reporting a lost item that was not found.

“We can then take their information with the description of the item and then if it comes in at a later date or time, we can give them a call and say, ‘Hey, we now have your item. How would you like us to return this to you,’” Williams added.

If any remaining lost items are not claimed by their owners this week, Williams said they are moved to the Brooks building.

“All of our items here are boxed up and we save everything for a year…At the start of the fair next year, we will take everything that we can and donate it,” Williams noted.

Jewelry is saved for five years as a precaution because of their high value. Williams is thankful for everyone who turned things in that did not belong to them.

“We are able to reunite a lot of it. We feel like we’ve had more items go out this year than we have in past years because we’ve had it…We’ve had wonderful fairgoers this year who have turned in tons of items to us,” Williams said.

People can pick up their lost items at the Lost People Center, just across the way from the West Springfield firehouse and restaurant from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Wednesday, October 5. Any unclaimed belongings will then be taken to the Brooks building for safekeeping.

To contact the Lost People Center, you can call (413) 205-5164.

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