'She would have been thrilled.' Family returns purse lost by Hoover student 60 years ago

Amy L. Knapp, Massillon Independent
·4 min read
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Emory, left, and Charles Anderson look over black and white photos, newspaper clippings, membership cards and other items found in a purse owned by their mother Patti Rumfola. While a student at Hoover High School in the late 1950s, Rumfola's purse was lost between a wall and a set of lockers.
Emory, left, and Charles Anderson look over black and white photos, newspaper clippings, membership cards and other items found in a purse owned by their mother Patti Rumfola. While a student at Hoover High School in the late 1950s, Rumfola's purse was lost between a wall and a set of lockers.
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NORTH CANTON ‒ Steph Hyder couldn't contain her emotions when she got a call from North Canton school officials telling her they had unearthed her mother's purse lost in her alma mater nearly six decades earlier.

"I ran down to the basement to my husband crying," she recalled. "I didn't know who to call first."

Instead of making a call, she sent her four siblings an email. Attached to it was a video about a purse that was found in an Ohio school.

"It was a few minutes in before they said the purse belonged to my mother," Charlotte Baron said.

On Friday, the family of 1960 Hoover High graduate Patti Rumfola, who owned the item, visited the school to return the purse.

"It's been such a gift to our family," Baron said. "She would have been so thrilled."

Saturday marked the 10th anniversary of their mother's death. She died at the age of 71 in 2013, in DuBois, Pennsylvania.

Patti Rumfola in her yearbook. She was very active in high school. The yearbook lists she was a member of a cappella choir, yearbook staff, freshmen chorus, student librarian and in the spring review.
Patti Rumfola in her yearbook. She was very active in high school. The yearbook lists she was a member of a cappella choir, yearbook staff, freshmen chorus, student librarian and in the spring review.

Lost purse = time capsule of the past at Hoover High

The purse was unearthed in the spring of 2019 when North Canton Middle School custodian Chas Pyle was doing repair work to a set of lockers.

He spotted what he thought was a pencil case stacked high with dust and wedged between a wall and a set of lockers.

It sparked Pyle's interest. It wasn't a pencil case but rather a purse hidden in the wall since the first year of classes. Back then, the school was the newly opened Hoover High School and housed students in grades 10 to 12.

For six decades, the red clutch filled with mementos of a different time stayed hidden until Pyle pulled it out, dusted it off and peeked inside.

The purse contained a treasure trove of memories: Black and white photos of Rumfola's dog, Buttons, and a photo of Rumfola and her sister, her mother, Rose, and friends from high school, including Bonnie, who wrote on the photo, “Good luck to a swell girl and friend.”

A sampling of items found in Patti Rumfola's purse including black and white photos of her dog, her sister and her mother. A handwritten note with an address, ticket stubs and several membership cards.
A sampling of items found in Patti Rumfola's purse including black and white photos of her dog, her sister and her mother. A handwritten note with an address, ticket stubs and several membership cards.

Also in the purse was an admission ticket for an event at Canton Public Schools that cost 30 cents. A ticket stub for a football game at the North Canton Memorial Stadium (35 cents) and another for an event at Alliance High School (50 cents).

A 1956 pocket calendar from a pharmaceutical company, name cards from commencement announcements and a handwritten photocopy of regulations for a basketball league also were squirreled away in the bag. Her Sacred Heart medallion and a number of membership cards for the Viking Booster Club and American Junior Red Cross were also found.

A slice of Beech-Nut gum, three sharpened and well-used pencils, a pencil top eraser, a larger eraser, handkerchiefs, a small green ruler, a comb and makeup were also in the bag.

Her Midnight in Paris blush compact remained intact. Vivid pink lipstick was one of the two in her purse.

Also in her wallet were a few coins, including wheat pennies that feature Abraham Lincoln on one side and wheat stalks on the other. The coins were issued up to 1958. Hyder now has one of the pennies inside a necklace she wore.

Patti Rumfola's family returns lost purse to Hoover High

Charles Anderson stood in front of his mother's locker: No. 154. He can't remember a time mother lost anything.

"Maybe this taught her a lesson," he joked.

School officials suspect Rumfola forget her purse after placing it on top of the lockers. Sometime in the 1980s, display cases were built on top of the lockers, they said.

Polly Doyle, who recently retired as the school system's communications coordinator, was instrumental in finding Rumfola's family, who live in Maryland and Florida, and returning the purse to the family.

She also contacted some of her classmates. One of those classmates, Jack, a friend she worked with on the yearbook, couldn't join them on Friday but wanted them to know that their mother was the sweetest person around and was kind to everyone.

North Canton Middle School Principal David Eby, left, shows the family of 1960 Hoover High grad Patty Rumfola her old locker. Rumfola's lost purse was found in 2019 between the wall and locker.
North Canton Middle School Principal David Eby, left, shows the family of 1960 Hoover High grad Patty Rumfola her old locker. Rumfola's lost purse was found in 2019 between the wall and locker.

The family was amazed by the reach the story of their mother's lost purse had on the local community as well as across the world. A CBS story about the lost purse had 7.7 million views.

"It's just incredible," said Emory Anderson, the eldest sibling.

The family kept a few items, including the family photos and a necklace, and returned the remaining items to the school. The staff added shelves to a defunct phone booth in the school to display the purse and its contents.

Four of the five siblings were able to make the trip to North Canton. It was the first time they visited their mother's old stomping grounds. They had only heard stories and seen pictures of her at a local ice rink or at her father's Rexall pharmacy.

Before heading home, they toured the school and took in the Hoover football game.

Siblings Charlotte Baron, from left, Emory Anderson and Charles Anderson look over black and white photos, newspaper clippings, membership cards and other items found in a purse owned by their mother Patti Rumfola. While a student at Hoover High School in the late 1950s, Rumfola's purse was lost between a wall and a set of lockers.
Siblings Charlotte Baron, from left, Emory Anderson and Charles Anderson look over black and white photos, newspaper clippings, membership cards and other items found in a purse owned by their mother Patti Rumfola. While a student at Hoover High School in the late 1950s, Rumfola's purse was lost between a wall and a set of lockers.

Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com.

This article originally appeared on The Independent: Purse lost behind Hoover High locker returned to school 60 years later