The Time I Found a 20th Century Trunk in a Dumpster

Several months ago I discovered an antique trunk while dumpster diving at an apartment complex. This stunning piece of history was propped up in the dumpster just waiting to be rescued from the landfill. After multiple lock picking tutorials and failed attempts to get into it, I had temporarily given up, residing the trunk to the garage until I was ready to try again.

It wasn’t until September that my curiosity got the best of me and I enlisted the help of my husband, Alex. With some hammering and usage of tools that definitely would not be…