Long overdue books came from Superior

PHOENIX - Two overdue library books that were returned to Camelback High School 50 years after they were checked out were not mailed from Colorado as first thought.

The nature books were checked out in 1959. They were returned last week by priority mail along with an anonymous letter and a $1,000 money order to cover late fees.

Librarian Georgette Bordine originally thought they were mailed from Colorado. "There was a post office box on the box as the return address. However, when we looked at the postal money order and the postmark, they were actually mailed in Superior, Arizona."

She said this is the second time in three years this has happened. "I got a letter in the mail and a check in the mail for somewhere between $75 and $100 from a man who had been going through a 12-step program and wanted to make good the fact that he had stolen a book from the library back in 1962," she chuckled.

Bordine said she'll use the money to buy new books for the library.

Bordine believes whoever has had the nature books all these years is just a procrastinator who finally got around to sending them back.