When people find an historical object which has no meaning to them, what possesses them to track down the rightful owner, or at least a descendant?

Is it the mystery? The intrigue? The need to see history go full-circle?

University of Regina history professor James Pitsula thinks it's probably a little bit of everything.

Over the past few weeks, the Leader-Post has chronicled the stories of three people who were on such journeys.

The first was Joyce Robertson, who stumbled across a roll of film in 2006, developed it and has been looking for the photographer ever since.

The second, Doug Schick, uncovered a marriage certificate in the boiler room of an apartment block, and yesterday there was Mark Brigham, who found the portrait of Major Alfred Frank Mantle in the University of Regina biology department's storage room.

The objects were all different, but each person made the effort to try and find someone who would appreciate the recordings of history.

But why?

"I guess it's human nature to want to restore order," Pitsula laughed.

"I think there's also a sense of it being important to someone at some point, so there's almost a need to tie up loose ends and place the item back in a context where it belongs."

Robertson and Schick also expressed the opinion that if someone found something of significance to their own families, they'd like to think they'd take the time to track them down, while Brigham has had many family members serve in the war and so could recognize the importance of the portrait he discovered.

That picture is particularly important, given how well-known Mantle was at the time of his death in 1916.

"He was touted by some people to be the next premier," Pitsula said.

"When news came that he'd been killed, the grief was so profound in the legislature that people were seen crying at their desks. In the end everyone was given the afternoon off because no one was getting any work done.

"There's something about an object like this that can bring people right back to that moment ... and I think maybe we're acquiring a deeper historical consciousness."

Then there's the fact each object held an obvious personal or emotional value to the former owners, which, Pitsula pointed out, is something almost everyone can relate to.

"There was a relationship there -- a marriage, kids, a young father killed in the war," he said.

"To me it's really quite altruistic, because there's nothing in it for any of the individuals. It's just a desire to be helpful. It's quite admirable."

egraney@leaderpost.com