BLOOMINGTON - Tim Haney was about 12 when he and a couple of friends, doing some Halloween mischief, took a historical plaque from a tree at the Vrooman Mansion.

A bad conscience followed Haney for 50 years.

"I've been wondering for years how to give it back," said Haney, who finally decided that "the time was right."

"We were good kids but just got caught up in a Halloween prank," he said.

The plaque, which referred to Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas giving speeches under the tree, remained for decades under Haney's mattress in his parents' Bloomington home and later in his garage in Normal.

About three weeks ago, Haney, 62, took the plaque to the Vrooman Mansion on East Taylor Street and told innkeeper Theora Stark his story.

"I was sort of speechless," Stark said.

The 12-by-15-inch plaque now is in a vault at the mansion, but Stark believes it eventually will be displayed.

Stark couldn't put a value on the plaque, but "it means a lot to us historically."

A similar plaque is with the McLean County Museum of History, 200 N. Main St.

Greg Koos, executive director of the museum, said the museum got the plaque when the giant oak was cut down.

Meanwhile, the lesson to be learned from Haney's story, Stark said, is that "a guilty conscience will follow you until you make amends."

"It was just flat-out wrong to take it," Haney said.

bholliday@pantagraph.com