Why was a stolen photo so special to customers at a Danville restaurant

Customers at Copper and Oak restaurant can’t believe what happened in the men’s restroom on New Year’s Eve.

Someone stole a photo – ripping it directly out of the frame. It’s a photo that meant a lot to people there.

It’s all left their general manager, Hannah Bonagofski, asking- why?

“What are they going to do with it,” she wonders.

The restaurant didn’t go to the police – but they made a post on Facebook asking for the photo to be returned.

Hundreds commented, one person asked, “What is wrong with people?”

Inside the restaurant, people keep asking what the Facebook post didn’t explain – that is what was in the photo.

“It showcased a football team from 1921 – the day they beat Harvard,” Bonagofski.

That football team played for Centre College. They shared a digital copy with us – it reads, “The boys who beat Harvard.

“Is a photo that if you didn’t know the history of our town it wouldn’t mean as much to you,” she said.

It meant so much to many people who came through the restaurant, she explained. It included one older couple.

“The husband comes back and he has a look on his face, he had taken a picture of it on his phone and he zoomed in on it, and he was showing his wife and he said ‘do you recognize this,’ and it was her great grandfather and it was just the coolest things to be able to see that,” Bonagofski said.

It is moments like that which explain why they want the photo to be returned.

“At least hang it somewhere cool so it’s known and [you] can share the stories”

A spokesperson for Centre College told us that if the photo is not returned they would be happy to provide a replacement print of the photo to the restaurant.