LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When the doors opened at the St. Matthews Eline branch of the Louisville Free Public Library, a clan of Perelmuter cousins walked through with a leather briefcase.
Inside the briefcase, Mark Perelmuter carried two books his cousin found in the family's library in California.
"On behalf of the Perelmuter family," cousin Michael Perelmuter King said, "we proudly present to you, and return to you, those things that are rightfully yours."
On Monday, the family returned two books missing from the library's collection for 100 years. Without barcodes to scan, checking in those old tomes was as much a formality as it was a family reunion.
"I do remember our grandmother, Miriam," one of the older cousins said proudly, though he had to recall a time when he was just four years old.
Miriam Perelmuter checked out "First Russian Book" in 1926, which translated Russian phrases into English. The stamped sleeve shows it was checked out from the Louisville library.
At the previous late fee of a quarter a day, the returns would have cost around $15,000. Now, however, the free public library is even freer.
"We don't have overdue fines anymore," branch manager Kate Leitner said. "Nobody's in trouble. We're just so happy that they brought the books back. It makes it very special to hear their story, but also for their family to get together like this and celebrate the memories."
Miriam, a Russian-Jewish immigrant, was also known as Mary. She used that name on her well-stamped library card. That same card revealed where her Louisville home was. It was on 9th street well before Beecher Terrace was built. She came to the U.S. from what's now called Ukraine with her husband and two children.
One of her kids, Morris Perelmuter, shared her love for the library.
In 1924, he checked out a book on famous composers and wrote his original name on the inside in blue crayon. However, it was too long to fit on marquees out west, so he changed it to Morry King.
In a 1960 photograph preserved in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas archives, you can see the violinist performed with the likes of Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin.
That love of music is still shared by Morry's son, Michael, and his cousin, Mark, even though they live thousands of miles apart.
"As a matter of fact," Michael said. "Yesterday afternoon Mark and I spent hours together finishing a piece that we've been working on for a few years, a Schumann Fantasie, and we performed it for our wives."
The books they returned are part of the Louisville Free Public Library's historical collection.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.