School Returns Lost Old Purse to Owner’s Family

An old red purse was found wedged between a locker and a wall in an Ohio middle school and returned to the owner’s family. In May 2019, an employee of North Canton Middle School (NCMS) found the purse while he was repairing the school lockers. He took the purse and handed it to school personnel. They all examined the bag and went through its contents in hopes of finding its owner. Some contents of the purse included library cards, a membership card for a youth organization, photos, makeup, a note from a friend, and some old coins. The school found out that the purse was previously owned by Patricia Rumfola, a student who graduated from the school in 1960. The contents revealed that Rumfola lost the purse in the late 1950s. The school took to Facebook to ask people for help in locating the whereabouts of Rumfola. After months of searching, the school located Rumfola’s children and learned that she had already passed away in 2013. In a recent Facebook post, the school expressed its gratitude to the people who helped in the search. The school included an old photo of Rumfola and pictures of the purse’s contents in the social media post. One of the pictures shows some old coins from Rumfola’s purse. Each of Rumfola’s children kept one of these coins as a memento of their late mother. According to one of Rumfola’s friends, the late NCMS alumna would use the purse only for special occasions. She also shared that Rumfola never mentioned that she had lost the purse.