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Former Sandusky resident Lloyd Webb's family was going through their dad's things last Thursday when son-in-law Joe Rieszer of Florida picked up a heavy box in the back of the shed.

"It was kind of heavy. I looked in the box and figured I'd let the police chief check it out. It looked like little rockets like you see in old war movies. I'm familiar with them, I used to be on the police force. It got my attention. They always taught us to get an expert to check it out," he said.

Sgt. Dewayne Gilley took a look and called the state police to ask for their bomb squad.

While they waited for the bomb squad, FBI Agent and bomb expert Mark Davidson of Peck, who was in the area on vacation, confirmed the equipment were bombs.

Police evacuated the offices of Peters Real Estate and the homes and apartments within 100 yards of the shed at the intersection of W. Speaker St. and S. Elk St. for about two hours.

The state police bomb squad out of Bridgeport took away three small old bombs about 2 p.m. Reiszer said one rocket had the date 1943 on it. Two were American made, and one was a German hand grenade, according to Police Chief Paul Cowley. He said the German bomb was a practice unit, and one had already had the explosive taken out. The bomb squad crew technicians were planning to detonate the third rocket before they left Sanilac County.

The 87 year old man had lived in the house at least 20 years and currently is in a nursing home in Florida. So the bombs could have been in the shed at least that long.