Book returned to library 75 years past due; war to blame?


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) — "Val Rides the Oregon Trail" is back in the hands of a Pennsylvania library — 75 years past the book's due date.

Robert Lockman Jr. recently found the popular children's book by Sanford Tousey in his basement in Shavertown, Pennsylvania. His late father had taken it out when he was 9.

Lockman tells The Citizens' Voice (http://bit.ly/2lqw0Ai ) he has no idea what happened but returning it this past week was the right thing to do.

The Osterhout Free Library didn't impose a fine. It would have worked out to over $550 at the 1941 rate.

Library officials speculate the family lost track of the book because "everyone had more important things to worry about" at the time.

Its return date was stamped Dec. 2, 1941 — five days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

___

Information from: The Citizens' Voice, http://www.citizensvoice.com

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent Features stories

The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast