SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Members of the public often donate items to the Lake Tahoe History Museum, but a recent donation caused quite the stir. On August 30, 2025, a man brought in two items he found at Fallen Leaf Lake, not knowing what they were except that they were old. The Museum Director, Diane Johnson, took them in, weighed and measured them, and stored both in the museum until a search could be conducted on what they were.
On Tuesday, September 16, new volunteer Corey Henderson started the research on one of the two old items that resembled a soup can and weighed 14 pounds. He alerted Diane, telling her it might be a military ordnance (weapons, ammunition, and military equipment used in warfare).
Diane called the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD), and Cory Wilson arrived from SLTPD with two other officers. Officer Wilson took a photo of the item and sent it to the Tahoe Douglas Bomb Squad, who advised him to evacuate the museum, which is located on Lake Tahoe Blvd.
The Tahoe Douglas Bomb Squad arrived, and they believed it could be an unexploded military ordnance, and sent for equipment to X-ray the device.
The 14-pound can did not contain explosives, and it was determined to be a practice “concrete bomb.” A concrete bomb is an aerial bomb filled with inert material, typically concrete, instead of an explosive warhead. These weapons are used by militaries for training, testing, and military action, where minimizing collateral damage is a priority.
Had the device been an explosive, the U.S. Air Force in Fallon, Nevada, would have been called to the museum, since it would have been used by the military, and they would have taken care of it. Instead, the Tahoe Douglas Bomb Squad removed it for disposal.
This was just Corey’s second day volunteering at the museum.
Coincidentally, the museum just received a replica of the bomb used at Harveys in 1980. It was recently used in Hollywood for an upcoming movie and donated to the museum, where it is now on display.
