STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, when a volunteer at the Sterling Heights Public Library found an old wedding photo inside of a book, they understood the sentimental value and made sure it made its way back to the family.
The image captures a moment in time of one of the happiest days in a newlywed couple’s union. On the back, there was a clue. It came in clutch in the library's efforts to find the rightful owners.
Watch Darren Cunningham's video report below:
“We posted 'Lost & Found Love Story!' We were hoping someone might recognize one of the people in the pictures or recognize the last name," Anneliese White, the library public relations and programs coordinator, explained.
Sarah Ruggirello told 7 News Detroit, “And one of my childhood friends who I haven’t spoken to in years tagged me in this post, and so I read the post from the Sterling Heights Public Library and she recognized my last name in it and said 'hey, are these some family members of yours?'”
She responded to the Facebook post, essentially saying I do to recognizing her grandfather and grandmother, Frank and Josephine Ruggirello.
Ruggirello said they married on Sept. 26, 1953 in Detroit.
She said they were first-generation Sicilian Americans who raised five kids.
7 News Detroit captured the moment Ruggirello went to pick up the photo. It’s unclear at this point which book the photo was inside of and who donated it.
However, the library said it’s routine for volunteers to check the donated books while cataloging them before they’re sold in the used book store.
“What's so cool is we’ve never seen... my dad and I have never seen this exact photo before. We didn’t know this exact photo existed,” Ruggirello said.
“I was very close to my grandparents. My whole family, my brother and cousins and I have just such fond memories of them growing up. We'd go over to their house every Sunday for Sunday dinner and my grandma was a great cook and she would make homemade sauce and meatballs and they were just the best grandparents ever."
Ruggirello said she's thankful the library made the effort to find family.
“I think now I’m going to frame it and display it somewhere in my house just because this was such a cool story and such a cool thing that happened," she said.
So what genre or category might the story of this reunited wedding photo be placed in?
"This is definitely a solved mystery with a little bit of romance in it for sure. A feel-good story,” White said.
Ruggirello opined, “I would say romance and maybe slight mystery there too, but I would say romance because it’s just a reminder of their love story.”
Frank and Josephine Ruggirello were married for 67 years until Frank died in 2020. His bride, Josephine, died in 2023.
