A Normal Workday
Have you ever lost your faith in finding something that you lost a long time ago? A custodian at the North Canton Middle School never expected to find something this interesting while working. It was Spring 2019 when Chas Pyle, a janitor in Ohio, was doing some repairs at a local school, what he never expected was to find a strange item stuck behind a piece of detachable metal that turned out to be an absolute treasure!
It was 2019, and Chas Pyle was having a normal workday. He was doing some repairs, cleaning the floor, taking out the trash, basically what he does on a regular basis. This day, he was specifically asked to repair the lockers that were a little loose, little did he know that something incredible was about to happen.
The unbelievable Discovery
When Chas was removing and fixing the wall trim that he was asked to repair, he found the equivalent of years of dust and dirt but something much more special caught his eye. A piece of metal that covered the space between the wall and the locker was removed and revealed the amazing discovery: something was behind all that dirt.
It was definitely not hard to imagine that it had decades there, Chas said he couldn’t remember if that metal bar was ever moved in all his working years at the institute. At first, the only thing Chas could see was a red thing, but after taking a closer look and grabbing the object, it became clear that he was in front of a leather red purse, but what he didn’t expect was what happened next.
Finding The Owner
Of course, Chas did the obvious thing: took the purse to the front office staff.
When it was in the front officers power, it was their turn to figure out what to do now. The Purse’s condition and deteriorated state let them figure that it had been lost for at least 30 years… But regardless of how long it was lost, the team had an objective: to find out its owner. A quick inspection and look inside the bag led the investigation to an incredible discovery.
Who Was The Owner?
The things found inside the bag led the team to discover who owned this purse from 1957: a teenager called Patti Rumfola, who was 14 at the time.
What she left that day at the school was certainly very special and held tons of things from an era that we left behind and barely remember, which is why this purse became so special and the team was working on returning it to its owner. And that's not all...
Remembering Those Days
The purses content was revealing to say the least, it gave Chase and the School a vivid glance of how Patti and young teenagers life was like, and of course how much it has changed. As you can imagine, the life of a 14 year old from when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, and phones weren’t even a thing, was a lot different from the life that teenagers have in this century.
Some of the stuff there clearly belonged to a person from a time very different from ours so it became a challenge to find her.
Tracking Her Down
To return the bag and her belongings they first needed to track her down. The team in charge of this investigation started reviewing again the things inside the bag to see if they can find something useful. The school officials were sure that the now elderly Patti would feel a mixture of shock and happiness if she found her long lost purse.
But they quickly figured out that extra help will be needed since the information inside the bag wasn’t enough to find her.
Help From Facebook
They figured that a lot of people can do more than the small team that were looking for her, which is why they quickly turned into the general public to help them find the owner of the purse. The North Canton City Schools facebook page published the story and where people could find more information on who Patti was and what had happened that lucky day at school.
With the Facebook community help, someone close to Patti’s family handled the contact information of one of her closest family members! Despite the difficulty the school team still managed to find a way to contact her children, and when the officials told them the reason behind their call, the family had some really sad news...
Patti Won't Be Able To Get Her Things Back
At first when the officials got in touch with Patti’s children, they weren’t helpful and surely were not interested in what they found in that small gap at the school… Minutes later the crew found out why: their mother passed away almost five years before (in 2013).
It was sad for them to hear this news, but that didn’t stop them from at least trying to give their relatives what their mother left at school so many years ago… which is why the school invited her children to a revealing ceremony that felt like the opening of a time capsule. But were they ready for what they were about to see?
Who Was Patti?
Patti Rumfola had a great life, she married John G. Michele and had five children with him, but she was much more than a mother: she was an incredibly passionate school teacher, was one of the founding members of the Theatre Arts Guild and the Young Women's Club.
According to her loved ones, she enjoyed life and book clubs. She was also a costume designer and an amazing grandmother. You'd think this nice lady wouldn't keep anything suspicious in her bag, right?
An Encouraging Discovery
Amongst the many items that mistakenly traveled through time inside Patti Rumfola’s purse, a once green, now brownish wallet was found.
Certainly, time has taken a toll on Patti’s old wallet, but this didn’t phase Patti’s family, they wanted to explore the new insight they now have into their mother’s adolescence. They didn’t really expect all of the spoils they found inside it.
A Treasure?
Inside Patti’s wallet, a fair bit of change was found. 27 cents might not get you much in today’s standards, in the 1950’s 27 cents could go a long way, even affording Patti some lunch. Losing this amount of money back then must have really been an inconvenience for her.
The coins were split between her children in order for them to feel a closer connection with their mother and her past. But the next object was a little odd for someone to carry around!
Inside Her Purse
Other interesting findings made by the school were a small group of pictures Patti always seemed to carry around with her, to bring with her all of those who are the closest to her heart, including family members and even the family dog.
These photos surely made her family happy when they were found. But the most exciting part is still yet to come.
The Things She Liked
The beautifully packed slice of peppermint Beech-Nut Gum was one of the most fascinating discoveries. Anyone who knew her knew that she loved her gum peppermint in her early days. One problem on everybody's mind was the gum brand, as nobody knew about it.
Beech-Nut was an important brand from the end of the 19th century. The business still exists, mainly producing baby food, though it isn't as popular as it used to be. Chewing gum peaked in the 1980s, and these days it's probably very difficult to find. The objects found in her purse allow us to understand how those times used to be but the next one was super unexpected!
When You Have Friends...
A note found in Patti’s purse shows us that she was beloved by her friends and family. Out of the stuff they found, this is probably one of the most delightful ones.
A note written by a former friend named Bonnie in the back of a picture, and it reads: “Good luck to a swell girl and friend. Never forget the wonderful times we had. I hope we can be good friends always even though we’re far apart.” This shows how much she was loved by her friends and family. But then, something was found in her purse that shocked everyone.
A Sports Fanatic
Various 1950’s memorabilia related to her school sports were found.
Patti was definitely a supporter of both the school’s baseball and football teams, attending every game she could both home and away, Patti would always be there for her team and her school. The next discovery shows us what a big heart Patti had.
Big At Heart
Patti 's American Junior Red Cross membership was one of the most touching discoveries inside the bag. While today's Junior Red Cross may not be very popular, it was once very popular with youngsters.
During the First World War, the organization gained massive popularity between school children and teenagers. And that's not all!
All About The Community
In Patti’s purse a YMCA membership card was also found. This shows us how much Patti cared about helping and working towards improving her community.
YMCA has always focused their work towards helping communities and doing community outreach, aiding those in need with shelters, housing services, helping families and many more help programs. But the next discovery really made us take a look into the past and ourselves.
Some Things Never Change
An old yellow-ish comic but cut-out was found in her purse, it shows a middle-aged man that’s saying “Yes! Cook something French or Italian! … From some other continent!”. While the bad joke didn’t crack a laugh in any of the family members or school officials, what shocked them was what they found next to it!
A cute doodle of the man shown in the comic strip cut out, probably made by Patti out of boredom. Now her family can have a better view on how their mother entertained herself in her younger years. A complete surprise was what they found next!
Faith Goes First
At the time Patti was attending school, religion was much more important than today in American society, and Patti's bag is living evidence of this. We noticed a catholic collar and when their children searched at their mother's possessions.
There was also a medallion with Jesus' face. It read: "Sacred heart of Jesus. I place my trust in thee." One of the most surprising discoveries was that both were in great shape that still lasted despite being locked away for more than half a century.
A 1950s Teenager
All of her belongings found by school officials really allowed us to understand how was the life of a normal 1950’s teenager, what was important for her and what she liked doing.
Many things like library cards, makeup, pocket calendars, the school's football team match schedule, her religious relics and her YMCA membership cards and more, permitted her family to learn more about her and her life, even after her death. Not only that, now they have new mementos of their mother and a great reminder of what a big heart she had. You might be wondering what happened to Patti right after school...
A Full Life
Now that we have an insight into Patti’s school life, you may be wondering, what happened with Patti after high school?
According to her obituary, Patti lived a full and happy life. Patti was also a costume designer and seamstress at the Reitz Theatre, where she loved spending time with her friends, but most importantly, her grandchildren. It also stated “She enjoyed the Ladies of the Lake and her book and quilting clubs.” Unfortunately, her husband preceded her death in 2007. Patti died in 2013 at the age of 71 in Dubois, Pennsylvania.
What Her Children Had To Say
The children were super touched by the school’s gesture of returning her mother things, and also, they were happy that they got to know a side of their mother that was super special.
Stephanie, Patti’s daughter wrote: "I cannot THANK YOU enough, we agreed that Mom would have been SO excited if she could see all of this. Would have made her smile so hard to know this has been found and reminisced about a day in the life of her old self."
Her Viral Story
This touching story became viral after multiple newspapers wrote about Patti’s purse and life!
She accomplished in 1957 one modern dream: virality, but what the discovery (and her life) taught us was much more special!
Remembering Patti
Near the anniversary of the discovery, the North Canton City Schools posted on Facebook Patti’s Obituary as follow up to all of those who were interested in the purse’s story, and while the purse was stuck in time between a wall and a locker, Patti wasn’t frozen at all.
She lived a long, happy and full life next to her husband, children and family. She was a school teacher for many years in Annapolis, Maryland. She also liked theatre arts, quilting, book clubs.
What The Discovery Taught Us
For Patti’s family it may have been a wonderful discovery that let her children and grandchildren learn more about her young life and what a great person she was.
This discovery allowed us to see how life in general has evolved since the 1950’s, seeing how many of her trinkets and things in her purse are nowadays obsolete, but back then we’re total life savers and completely necessary. Makes you think, what is important and necessary to your everyday life that might just not be in the next 70 years?