🏆 HONORABLE MENTION Mission Accomplished! - Vintage 1953 Class Ring Returned!

[KYshooter]

I have discovered the identity of the original owner of the ring. Please see my update in the thread below.

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Hunting Buddy Whiskey Delta and I spent the day hunting a couple of old school sites near home.

He struck silver first, digging a small, thin, flattened sterling ring out on the old baseball field.

A few minutes later I got a jumpy signal in the silver dime / quarter range on my E-Trac. I cut my plug and out popped this baby!

It is a 1953 sterling class ring from the no-longer-existent Lacey Junior High School. The owner of this ring would now be around 72-73 years old!

The crest was actually off of the ring. I had to search deeper in the hole to find it, then I repaired and reattached it when I got home.

Here is a side view, with a beautiful masted ship or schooner.

Here is a shot of the maker's stamp. I've researched the company and can find no records of it.

Now my research begins. There are initials inside the ring. I know a teacher who works at the school located on this site. I am hoping that they have some old yearbooks in the library. I just might be able to figure out an owner.

How cool would that be? Returning a junior high ring 60 years later ...

Whiskey Delta had the find of the day, though. Just as we were getting ready to go he got a "squeaker" of a signal, nice and deep. He pulled a gorgeous, very worn and thin 1907 Barber Dime! He wid the Whiskey Delta ugly version of the happy dance.

 

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[Sooper Dave]

Great Find! I hope you can find the owner, that would be very nice to see you return it. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[kam50]

Great find! Can't wait to find my first class ring. HH

 

[jewelerguy]

that's a cool find. from the wear on the ring, it must have been worn for a few years before it was lost. would be cool to return it if possible. the person would be probably around 77 years old now if they are still living.

 

[KYshooter]

that's a cool find. from the wear on the ring, it must have been worn for a few years before it was lost. would be cool to return it if possible. the person would be probably around 77 years old now if they are still living.

It's actually a junior high school ring, so I'm guessing that the owner was born in 1939 ... that would make them 14 in 1953, just finishing the 8th grade. Though, in those days 9th grade was sometimes considered "junior high." My best guess is that the owner is about 73, if still living.

I've made a contact who gave me a couple more names to follow up with ... people who were students at the school during the 50's. I'm hoping there's still a yearbook around somewhere!

 

[austin]

Bet the person or their family would love to have it back. Good luck...

 

[CRUSADER]

Very cool, if you can return it to any of the surviving family, good luck...

 

[The Sanddigger]

That would be great to find the owner!!!

Good luck!

 

[KYshooter]

Very cool, if you can return it to any of the surviving family, good luck...

I made some major progress today! I got a contact who graduated from the school and knows a network of graduates. I should have an ID within a day or two.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Congrats on the great find and major kudos for working to return the ring! This hobby needs more folks like you. Keep us posted on this great story!

 

[KYshooter]

OWNER FOUND! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!

This is getting exciting! My research team has located the owner of this ring. Unfortunately, he died at a relatively young age. However, I spoke to his older sister this evening. She is 75 years old and lives just a half-hour away. I'm meeting her in the morning and returning the ring that her brother lost over 55 years ago.

I already have a snapshot of his picture in the 1952 yearbook. I'll include that with the story.

I'll follow up with a full story and pictures tomorrow.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Congrats and very much looking forward to the story and photos!

 

[TCAWarriors]

Awesome! This story is great and I admire your desire this ring to his sister. It will create a memory for both you and her. Great job!

 

[cladHatter]

Love the ring!
Don't see too many of those here.

 

[Wildcat1750]

Great find and story, KYshooter! You were smart to search the hole for the missing part when you found it and soooo lucky to find the owner.
Nick

 

[KYshooter]

Mission Accomplished! - Vintage 1953 Class Ring Returned!

Last Saturday I found a beautiful sterling silver class ring. It was a 1953 ring from Lacy Junior High School in rural Christian County, Kentucky. The school is now just an elementary school, but in the 1950′s is was a “full service” school for the families of Lacy. Kids started school in the first grade and twelve years later graduated from the same building. How amazing is that? So I had in my possession a boy’s 8th grade “graduation” ring. Since the year was 1953, he was most likely born in 1939 and graduated in 1957. But the biggest piece of information was found on the inside of the ring … the initials “E-W-G.”

So I immediately set out on a mission to try and locate the owner.

I just happen to know a teacher who works at the Lacy Elementary School today. She’s an old friend named Debbie. I called her and she put me in touch with a woman who graduated from the school in the 50′s. When I called her, she immediately responded, “Oh, that’s probably Ed Grace.” Seriously … it was a shotgun reaction. Not even a single second transpired after I finished my question. She knew who the ring belonged to. Unfortunately, she also knew that Mr. Grace had passed away several years ago. But she joined me in my quest. So she promised me she would do a little more checking and try to get me a contact number. That was Sunday, the day after I found the ring.

Then on Monday I received another hone call. This time, Debbie (my teacher friend) was calling me back. After we talked the first time she really got caught up in the quest to find the owner of the ring. Then, apparently, she and some co-workers at the school spent a good part of the day looking for old yearbooks and making contacts. They, too, came up with the same name … Ed Grace. But this time we knew that his first name was actually Edgar. And though there was no 1953 yearbook available, there was a 1952 edition that did not perish in one of the fires that destroyed the original building many years ago. Debbie snapped a photo with her iPhone and sent it to me. Here it is …

But Debbie had more … the name and number of a sister who still lived nearby. They had already contacted her earlier in the day to find some information, so she was expecting my call. So, immediately after hanging up the phone I called Miss Helen, Ed’s older sister. I introduced myself and told her the story of finding the ring, then I asked her what her brother’s middle name was. She replied, “Wayne.” And so the mission was accomplished … in only 48 hours! I have since affectionately dubbed all of the ladies who helped me my “Official Research Team.”

Miss Helen and I had a delightful conversation. She told me how her brother had died in 1990, at the very young age of 51, of a sudden heart attack. He was a manager in a high-pressure environment in a well-known department store / retail chain, and that apparently took a great toll on him. He traveled widely in his work. She had no immediate recollection of the ring, or him losing it, but stated that she would be thrilled to have it and would see if any of his adult children would be interested in having it some day.

So we made arrangements to exchange the ring. I discovered that she was still working at the age of 75, so I made an appointment to visit Miss Helen this morning at her workplace. She was all smiles when I walked in the door and introduced myself. And that smile got even bigger when I handed her the ring.

She actually couldn’t quit looking at it …

But we did manage to get her to pose so her co-worker could snap a picture of us with my phone …

What an awesome day, and what an awesome turn of events. I never imagined that I would have a ring this old and in the ground that long (at least 55 years) back in the hands of the original owner or a close family member in such a short amount of time. I figured that it would take weeks.

Plus … out of the search, I have scored at least one more good place to detect.

It just goes to show you what doing the right thing can do!

Thanks for reading, and Happy Hunting!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Congratulations on the return--what a great story and upstanding thing to do! You make the entire metal detecting community look better by returing such a sentimental item that had been lost for so many years. Thanks for your fervent efforts and for sharing your wonderful story and photos. I would be honored to shake your hand if we ever get a chance to meet.

Best, Erik

 

[Mzjavert]

I love a good deed.

 

[Metal Magnet]

that is a great thing you did. man, i love this hobby and the people in it!

 

[GaRebel1861]

Outstanding job & story.