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The man whose 50-year-old prediction was unearthed along with the vintage car on June 15, "R.E. Humbertson" turned out to be Raymond Eugene -- a Cumberland native whose family just learned he unknowingly left them one, final gift.
It would be just like him. Humbertson's return trips from Japan while on leave from the military included presents for everyone -- sets of Noritake china, silk prints and ornate jewelry boxes. The 18 nieces and nephews still have many of Raymond's gifts.
Raymond's sisters remember him being just as loving to them.
"Every time he came he always brought me up something. He was just so good to me," said Catherine (Humbertson) Johnson.
"He always had something special for us," niece Mary Catherine (Humbertson) Kesner said. "Now, we have a car."
Saturday's reunion of the Humbertson clan included lively talk about how Humbertson came to be in Tulsa half a century ago. That is when city residents buried a time capsule in the form of the spanking new Plymouth sedan, and when Humbertson cast one of the 812 entries. His was the winning one, and the career Marine predicted Tulsa's population in 2007 would be 384,743. The city's actual population is 382,457.
Because Humbertson died childless in 1979, and his wife, Margaret, passed away in 1988, the 93-year-old Johnson and her sister, LeVada (Humbertson) Carney, 83, are his closest living relatives. But he has a slew of nieces and nephews -- all of whom are laying claim to being their uncle's favorite.
"With 18 of us, every year and a half the car can rotate through the family. We'll drive up here and pick it up from Catherine and LeVada," Don Humbertson said. The sisters live together in Bowling Green.
"LaVada already announced the highest bidder gets it," Sue (Humbertson) Gerhart said.
Among the growing list of humorous pleas for the Belvedere was nephew Al Humbertson's: "I was the oldest."
Sue said her husband, Paul, broke the news to her early Saturday morning, when he said, "You're not going to believe what was in today's paper." Sue added, "I wasn't even awake yet . . . I thought he said, 'Raymond buried a car and they just dug it up.'
"I said, 'My God, is there a body in it?' "
Good-natured family ribbing aside, everyone continued to speculate how Raymond came to be in Oklahoma on June 15, 1957. After several attempts to chronicle family events, they finally figured it out.
"What we think is, our grandfather was probably sick," nephew Ace Humbertson said. They believe Raymond came back to Cumberland after returning to San Diego, stopping in Tulsa along the way. "He probably got word his dad was sick," Ace said.
Raymond's father, Azariah Humbertson, had both legs amputated not long before he died in August 1957 -- and his loving son would have returned home to see his father, Ace added.
The rest of the puzzle remains a mystery, though. They speculate that Raymond stayed overnight in Tulsa, and perhaps had a bite to eat at a local diner -- where he may have filled out the form for the time capsule contest. As far as why he chose the numbers he did -- no one knows. In fact, they said Raymond was not a great math or science whiz.
"For all we know, he could have picked those numbers because (the cost of his meals were) $3.84 and $7.43, or something like that," Ace added.
While some Humbertsons did not learn about the Belvedere until Saturday, two of them knew Friday night. Dina (Humbertson) Lawyer's father-in-law had been following the story "for years." He called her Friday afternoon from Mississippi, telling her to get online.
"He's really into old cars and . . . it's a story that caught his attention and he just followed it," Lawyer said. "I think it's just outstanding. It's something you would never think would happen."
But it did happen, and the close-knit family intends for sisters Catherine and LeVada to fly to Tulsa to see their new prize.
"I would love to see them out there, because I would like to see history with their picture, with that vehicle," said Kesner, who is LeVada's daughter.
With some gentle urging, Catherine, who has never flown, agreed she might do it.
LeVada was a little more willing. "Give me some sleeping pills or something, and I won't know I'm on the plane," she said.
Now the bitter end to this story. You know the car is a piece did you know all the realitives are trying to claim it? Anyone the slightest bit related to the guy is fighting to own the car. I read that the 2 old ladies who won the car are downright being harrassed
. Its not the car they want, its the 300,000 dollar + offers they have been getting from museums they want. Lawyers are being called in because the IRS wants their tax from it as well and the fair market value in there eyes is the highest offer. The law is that if you win an item you pay a tax on the fair market value for the item (Blue book value for a car). The Blue book value of a 57 plymouth in #6 condition is about 200 bucks. They won a car with a blue book value of 200 bucks what they sell it for after that is there business and their money.