They really don’t make things like they used to, and that goes for lamps and people.

Pauline Robillard’s great-grandfather, Clovis Omer Senecal, was born in 1863. Not only was he an internationally recognized composer and artist, he was also chief draughtsman for the Geological Survey of Canada.

He helped map out much of the country, leaving behind both a remarkable legacy and a single glowing relic: a hand-carved wooden floor lamp, more than 125 years old.

“It’s very ornate,” Pauline said. “There’s so much detail in the support and the base. It’s a beautiful lamp.”

Her niece Suzanne agrees. “He put so much work into the details,” she said.

But in late August, that heirloom’s light went out, at least for the family, when it was accidentally dropped off by Suzanne’s brothers at a thrif

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