A lost library book made its way back to Oxford last week with the help of some caring folks in the Lone Star state.
Gabrielle Stadnick, a sophomore at Oxford High School, got a very big surprise when she was reunited with a missing copy of ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.?
Stadnick had checked out the Mark Twain classic from the school’s media center for an assignment in her American Literature class. She lost the book over Christmas vacation when she left it on a Southwest Airlines plane during her flight to San Antonio, Texas.
‘I was kind of freaking out,? Stadnick said. ‘I was worried I was going to fail the class.?
But as luck would have it, a family who lives in Coppell, Texas, a suburb of about 36,000 people outside Dallas, found the book in a seat pocket on their flight into Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
The family gave it to Cindy Sine, a longtime librarian at Pinkerton Elementary in the Coppell Independent School District.
‘I don’t know what made them take it off the plane,? Sine said. ‘They just felt compelled to find its home I guess.?
The book was stamped ‘OHS Media Center, Oxford Area Community Schools,? but it had no address, no indication of which state it came from.
Sine surfed the internet until she found the right Oxford.
‘Out of all the Oxfords in the U.S. she found us,? said OHS Media Center Director Tom Starks.
Sine packaged up the book, spent $4.60 on postage and let the U.S. Post Office do the rest. ‘I just felt like I’ve got to get this back to this little kiddo,? she said. ‘I hope that’s what other people would do for us.?
Sine noted she’s had missing books from her school’s library returned from as far away as New Mexico.
‘It was my turn to return the favor,? she said.
‘That was awful nice of her to do that,? Starks said. ‘It restores my faith in humanity. I’ve got to make sure I pay that forward.?
Stadnick could hardly believe it when Starks walked into her classroom Feb. 21 and presented her the missing book.
‘I said, ‘This look familiar?? and she jumped right out of her seat,? Starks said.
‘I actually had a dream that somebody was going to bring it back in the mail,? explained Stadnick, who’s extremely grateful to Sine and the family who found it. ‘I didn’t actually think it would happen. So it was pretty funny.?