Okay, this one calls for a suspension of disbelief on the part of Champion readers who should also be warned that while there is a beginning and an end, there is no middle bit to this story.
Here goes....
Once upon a time, there was a reader who enrolled as a member of Clare County Library. Because there wasn’t much in-house entertainment a half century ago, lots of people were into the idea of improving their skills. So, when someone checked out a book called Sketching In Pen And Ink on September 21, 1944, the staff didn’t bat an eyelid.
Cut to Tuesday morning when a mysterious package arrived at Library Headquarters in Ennis. There was no postmark and no accompanying letter of explanation but inside the perfectly wrapped parcel was a perfectly preserved book. Yes folks, Sketching In Pen And Ink - penned by one Donal Maxwell and published by Pitman in 1932 - had finally come home after a borrowing period of fifty four years.
County Librarian, Noel Crowley, is a reasonable man who always looks on the bright side of things so he was just relieved that the book was in excellent condition. As for the mysterious borrower, who will probably be entered in the record books as Anon, he says that after fifty four years and one month, he or she must indeed be an expert on sketching.