Smith: Much household stuff burned last October, but those Candlestick Park seats weren’t just stuff

It was just stuff. Just things.

But along with the furniture, glassware and such destroyed by the October fires were countless family heirlooms, sentimental keepsakes, memory-infused treasures.

Like the two seats from Candlestick Park - from Upper Reserve Section 45, row 6 - that were cherished by Carol Carlenzoli and her husband, Leroy.

“Those were the seats my mom and dad sat in,” Carol said.

Her folks, Marge Deasy, now 101, and the late Barney Deasy occupied those seats for decades as San Francisco 49ers season ticket holders. When Candlestick shut down in 2013, they purchased the seats.

It hurt Carol to see them melted. Only their heat-scorched metal frames remained. But one day last November, without her noticing, they disappeared from her homesite’s rubble and char.

The Carlenzolis’ carpet cleaner, Rob Kinney of Kinco Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning, had heard about the loss and lifted the frames. He mentioned to his wife, Janice Baker-Kinney, his desire to restore the seats.

Janice’s work as a TV stage manager puts her in touch with many Bay Area sports teams. She told people in the San Francisco Giants organization about the Santa Rosa family’s loss of two priceless Candlestick seats.

And someone high up with the Giants gave her two other seats salvaged from The Stick.

Rob Kinney wanted only the hard plastic seat bottoms and backs. So he removed them, and he had the Carlenzolis’ fire-damaged seat frames sandblasted and powder-coated. He attached to them the backs and bottoms from the Giants.

Rob and his wife and son then brought the renewed seats to the Santa Rosa rental house where the Carlenzolis live while their home is being rebuilt. Rob asked Carol and Leroy to come out and see something.

The couple spotted the seats and, well, you can imagine.

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THE COST & HASSLE of replacing his keys is something Larry Carlin would prefer to avoid as he deals with the loss of both his and his daughter’s family homes to the Tubbs fire.

You could make the retired news reporter’s day should you have in your possession a ring with several unremarkable car-and-house keys and a medallion bearing the photos of two adorable grandsons.

Larry’s email address is larrcar@comcast.net.

On Saturday, he parked in front of the Goodwill Store at Fourth and Stanford Streets and a while later pounded the pavement in search of his keys.

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NAMES IN STONE: At 6 p.m. Wednesday, a little something will happen alongside the “Santa Rosa High School” sign out front of the 144-year-old place of learning.

The school’s charitable foundation would be pleased for you to come by, and thrilled for you to bring your checkbook.

The gathering will dedicate five engraved granite plaques that honor donors of $5,000 or more to the SRHS Foundation’s Endowment Fund.

A campaign to create a $1 million endowment for the benefit of programs and endeavors across the campus has so far generated donations of $350,000.

The installation on the lawn sign of five plaques acknowledging contributions of $5,000 or more will leave room for five more plaques. It’s on one of those plaques that Foundation boosters would love for you to imagine your name.

You can reach columnist Chris Smith at 707-521-5211 or chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.