World War II Soldier Borrowed It In 1946
BALTIMORE -- It's never too late to return an
overdue book.
Officials at Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library said that
someone returned a book this week that was checked out from the
Central Library in 1946.
Library officials said the book was returned by John Wolfe, of
St. Louis, Mo., who said in an accompanying letter that he checked
it out when he was a soldier recuperating from surgery at Fort
Meade after World War II.
"Since it appeared at the time that we were about to be shipped
out to the Far East theater, it seemed to me a good idea to learn a
little about their languages," Wolfe said in the letter. "While
perusing your stacks, I came across a book titled 'Sound and Symbol
in Chinese' that looked as though it might be useful."
He said he just recently found the book in his private library
and decided to return it.
The library said it's better late than never.
"We are so delighted that Mr. Wolfe took the time and effort to
return the book even if it was 65 years late," said Carla Hayden,
chief executive officer of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. "In this
case, we have decided to waive the late fee because the smiles he
has given us are worth more than the fines that would have
accumulated. We thank Mr. Wolfe for his service to this
country."
She said the book is still in pristine condition and has the
original due date card in the back. The dates of when patrons
checked out the book in the 1930s and 1940s are still visible.
"We invite all patrons to return overdue books no matter how
long they’ve had it," Hayden said.
She said there's a $6 maximum fine on adult books and $3 on
children's books, so no one has to worry about paying hundreds of
dollars if their books are years overdue.<!--stopindex-->
