The mystery of the floor safe is revealed

SANDPOINT — A group of onlookers gathered around the mysterious floor safe at Sandpoint Super Drug on Thursday, anxiously awaiting the big reveal.

As the owner’s two children pulled the safe open, the crowd closed in around the youngsters to see what was inside.

“There is a key down there,” Damian Porter said as he and his sister, Lauren, looked down into the void.

The key, of course, went to the second chamber of the safe — an unexpected turn of events. The second chamber had a two-key system, however, so while one of the keys was inside, the other was not. As such, North Idaho Lock and Key once again got busy, cracking it in about 30 minutes. The combination lock on the first chamber took about two and a half hours to open.

The crowd once again gathered, though it had dwindled a bit by this time. As the youngsters pulled open the safe for a second time, it was Damian again who noted, “There is nothing in there.”

After feeling around a bit, he did find a small piece of metal that had been part of the safe as it donned the words, “Gary Safe Co. City of Industry.”

The floor safe was discovered last week during a replacement of the flooring throughout the entire building. It was covered by a metal lid under where the third register used to be, near the northwest corner of the building.

As for the double chambers, the locksmith said the safe is a “drop safe,” designed with two layers to allow cashiers access through the combination lock on the top chamber. They could drop deposits down a slot along the side, and the only the manager or owner would have access to the second chamber.

The community had made a variety of guesses as to what could be in the safe, with many guessing correctly that it was empty. Before the safe was opened, store owner Scott Porter said he thought it would be empty as well. Porter said he and his dad, John Porter, knew the safe was there when they moved into the building in 1981. The building previously belonged to M&J Grocery, and from what Porter heard from customers over the past week, the owners had used the safe often for deposits.

“We never pursued opening it or cracking the combination,” Porter said, adding that he had always wondered about it in the back of his mind.

It was Jeffres who, while she had seen the metal lid, had no idea a safe was hidden beneath it until the remodel. Her first reaction, she said, was, “We have to open it.”

“I have been here 17 years and I had no clue that was there,” Jeffres said.

After posting the discovery on social media and the plan to open it, the safe became a popular topic in the community. Jeffres said it was the mystery of it, the unknown, that was so appealing to everyone.

“It was fun, seeing all our customers and interacting with everybody,” she said after the safe was open. “We are just excited to turn it into a time capsule for the next person who gets to open it.”

For the time capsule, Jeffres asked customers for ideas, which include one of the painted rocks floating around town, a Twinkie and, of course, a photo of John Porter, who passed away in 2017. While they moved into the building in 1981, Scott Porter said he recently purchased the property, so he plans to put something in the time capsule about the sale.

Also, a station was set up at the store where everyone could make their guess as to what was in the safe before it was open. The slips of paper with the guesses, will go into the time capsule as well — after they read through them, of course.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.