A book borrowed from an American library 99 years ago has finally been returned. The story began in March 1926 when a man named Charles Tilton checked out a book titled Home-Made Toys for Girls and Boys by A. Neely Hall from the Ocean County Library in New Jersey. After his death a year later, the book stayed hidden for decades—until now.
Mary Cooper, an 81-year-old resident of Berkeley Township, New Jersey, recently discovered the book while sorting through her late mother’s belongings. It turned out the long-lost library book belonged to her grandfather, Charles Tilton, who had borrowed it just before passing away.
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Mary explained that she decided to return the book to the library after worrying about its future. My children are older, and I don’t have grandchildren, she told reporters. If my son took it, I wasn’t sure what he’d do with it. The library felt like the right place for it to belong.
The timing couldn’t have been more special. The library, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, called the return a “full-circle moment.” Staff were amazed to see the book—overdue for nearly a century—come back just as they mark a century of serving the community. The story has become a charming reminder of how objects can connect generations and history.