Better late than never.
An elderly man returned a magazine checked out from his New Hampshire library more than 130 years late — and would have racked up a whopping $12,055 in fines if late fees hadn’t been frozen.
The September 1894 issue of “The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine” mysteriously ended up in the hands of John Hanson, 84, and hung around his home for decades, the Concord Public Library posted on social media earlier this month.
After seeing an article in the Concord Monitor about the library’s fine freeze, Hanson decided to return the long-lost periodical to its original home, the library said.
“Yeah, when I saw that, I said to myself, ‘Boy, this would be a good time to bring it back,’” Hanson, of Barrington, told NBC News.
The over-century-old magazine won’t be returned to circulation, but thanks to the fine freeze, the octogenarian dodged a $12,055 fine for returning the publication 48,220 days overdue.
“We’ve witnessed many happy faces since announcing our fine freeze! Of course, we expected long overdue books to be returned, but certainly not something from the late 19th century!” the Concord Public Library wrote.
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