Smith: Camp Meeker woman's purse coughs up a find

How big is the purse that Katie Evenbeck bought last December at a secondhand store?

It’s so big that Evenbeck, who lives in Camp Meeker, has more than once lost her keys inside it.

“It’s a giant purse. It’s actually ridiculous,” said the mom, Zumba instructor and chief of the historic St. Dorothy’s Rest camp.

Not long ago, Katie once again couldn’t find her keys within the vastness of the purse, so she dumped it. There lay all of her pursely possessions, except her keys.

So she felt around inside the great bag and felt keys inside the lining. She reached in and there was a set of keys, plus a second one she’d lost earlier.

And wait, there was more: A box-top from a hair-color set she’d never seen, a note on a napkin and a ticket stub from a showing of “The Hangover 2.”

And a ring. A nice, diamond ring.

Evenbeck admired it, then phoned the Berkeley shop where she’d bought the purse, Buffalo Exchange, and reported her discovery. She reported it also to Berkeley police.

Today, the ring’s owner remains unknown. If that person doesn’t soon claim it, it will become Evenbeck’s. Though a jeweler appraised it at about $1,000, she’s not hoping to acquire it.

“I would love for it to be returned to its original owner,” she said. Should no one claim it, she’ll sell it and donate the money to St. Dorothy’s Rest.

As she waits, Evenbeck enjoys the adventure and the mystery. She’s been surprised by how many people have told her that for reporting the ring and seeking its rightful owner, she’s a better person than they are.

She likes to think that most people, placed in this same situation, would do the same that she’s done.

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KOCH & A MOVIE? West county activist Mary Moore and the Bohemian Grove Action Network plan no protests at the summer encampment that opens July 10 at the Bohemian Club of San Francisco’s splendid, sprawling redwood retreat near Monte Rio.

But Moore piggybacks on the release of two documentaries on the rich and influential Koch brothers by putting out word that the Kochs belong to one of the more elite of the Bohemian Grove’s 120-plus camps.

She cites research showing that Charles and David Koch have shared Midway Camp with the likes of retired Air Force Gen. and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers, vintner Michael Mondavi and former 49ers exec Carmen Policy.

As Bohemians prepare for the opening of this summer’s encampment, some people leery of wealth and power will treat themselves to a screening of the new “Citizen Koch” and the 2014 edition of “Koch Brothers Exposed.”

I imagine showings at the Rio Theater in Monte Rio, a stone’s throw from the Grove, followed by frank and robust exchanges between locals and Bohos - perhaps a cameo appearance by the Kochs. But opening July 11 is another tale of struggle for global domination: “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”

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THAT NO-HITTER that the Giants’ Tim Lincecum pitched against the hapless Padres last Wednesday was witnessed live by 41,500 fans.

But how many of them had been present also for Lincecum’s first no-hitter against that same team, in San Diego last July 13?

Jimmy Michels of Santa Rosa wonders if he was the only one. A huge Padres fan, it was both historic and horrendous for him to be present for both of Lincecum’s shutdowns of his team.

Might Michels be in the stands at AT&T in September for the end-of-the-season Giants/Padres series, and watch his team turn the tables and hold San Francisco hitless?

Impossible! Surely Lincecum and the Giants will snap out of their slump before then.

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THE HUGE AIRPLANE that flew over central Sonoma County at midday Saturday represented the Air Force’s final salute to Walt Huss.

A service was being conducted at Santa Rosa Memorial Park for Huss, a World War II aviator and prisoner of war, when the C-130 cargo plane from Travis Air Force appeared overhead.

A fitting tribute to an extraordinary man.