The mystery of the unknown voices heard on a vintage reel-to-reel tape deck found at a Penticton thrift store has been uncovered.
Darren Boyce bought what he believes is a early-to-mid 1960s tape deck from Value Village in June. After purchasing parts online and tinkering with the tape deck he managed to get the reel that came with it to work in August.
When he powered it on he heard mostly German music until he got to the end of the reel where he heard two children who recorded themselves singing, talking about the weather and their Penticton teachers.
He then posted the recording on social media to try and find the names behind those voices, the Western News also ran a story hoping to assist Boyce in finding who the machine and tape once belonged to.
READ MORE: Vintage Penticton tape deck is a reel mystery
“A local woman reached out to me claiming to know the people on the reel. After a back and forth with the people involved throughout the week, it was confirmed the voices heard on the recording are that of her brothers-in-law. They requested a digital file of the recording and let me keep the reel,” said Boyce.
He said the family wished to remain anonymous, but are very grateful and appreciative to have the recording which they didn’t even know still existed.
“The mother of the two boys on the recording owned the deck and passed away recently and the general idea was because the player didn’t work (it in fact hadn’t been played in many years), they couldn’t play it, and just decided to donate it all to Value Village. So they are just ecstatic about it being fixed and working again and re-discovering that recording,” said Boyce. “So on behalf of myself and them, thank you for your help in spreading the word and getting it back to them. It is very appreciated.”
Boyce previously told the Western News that discovering the history behind objects, like the vintage tape player, is why he has a fascination with collecting things.
“I love to see, maybe, people get a part of their history back or to discover something they didn’t know existed. I never like to see things lost, especially in the midst of time,” he said.
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