Lost purse from 1957 found in wall of school
A purse lost by a girl 63 years ago has been found in the wall of a school in Ohio.
Chas Pyle, a custodian at North Canton Middle School in Ohio, found the red purse wedged behind a locker while carrying out maintenance work last year.
After investigating its contents, the school this week identified the purse’s owner as former student Patti Rumfola.
Rumfola, who lost the item in 1957, died in 2013 but the school was able to get in contact with her children to return the purse.
The school said in a Facebook post: “Thanks to the investigative work of many of you on Facebook, we were able to track down Patti's family. Unfortunately, we found out that Patti has passed away.
"Patti’s five children were together for a family gathering in the fall where they opened the purse to have a glimpse into their mother’s life as a teenager at Hoover High School.”
With Rumfola’s children’s permission, the school revealed that the purse held their mother’s identification card, membership cards to various organisations, several ticket stubs, photographs of family, friends and a dog, and nine coins.
Some of you may remember the purse that was discovered at North Canton Middle School last spring. The purse belonged to...
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One of the photos had a written message that said: “Patti, good luck to a swell girl and friend. Never forget the wonderful times we had. I hope we can be friends always, even though we’re far apart. Bonnie, ’56.”
It also contained a comb, some make-up, stationery and a stick of chewing gum, typical items for a teenage girl in 1957 to be carrying.
Rumfola’s five children each kept one of the nine coins found as a token of remembrance of their mother, said the school.
