Lost ring returned 40yrs later!!!
This is an update to my recent post " There is gold in them thar parks!". I decided to start a new thread since the other one was pretty long. This whole story started earlier this month when I decided to head out for a short hunt at a local park. It was hot, humid and buggy as hell. I wasnt really expecting to find anything, this was my first time hunting this site. I walked into the woods about 25 yards and started hunting. It was hard time with my machine all sorts of EMI and tons of iron. Then I got a good signal around 63 and was repeatable among all the iron signals. I started to dig and was totaly surprised to see dull gold staring at me in the hole. As I pulled out the object here it was a 1969 Conestoga Valley High class ring. I couldnt believe my eyes I was so psyched, I was in the woods maybe 15 minutes. I went back to my car, gave the ring a quick rinse, took a pic and immediately sent it to my hunting buddy SilverStrike.
After going home and cleaning the ring better I was able to make out the 10k and the intials TM. I then posted my find on metal detecting forum. I also started my search for the owner, I figured I wasnt going to get very far since the ring may have been lost for 40 yrs. I was finaly able to get someone at the Conestoga Valley High School, they directed me to the distric office. When I arrived at the distric office they had been waiting for me, they then provided a 1969 class book. As I searched the year book there was only one person who fit the initials, his name was J Thomas Myers, not and exact match. The personel at the office didnt have any current information on him but were able to find his name in the phone book for me.
As soon as I left the distric office I called the number and got an answering machine for the Myers residence. I figured I would wait a day or two and see if anyone would answer rather than hearing a unknown message from a stranger. I called a few times and after some time I decided to leave a message. It was about 1 week and had not heard anything and called again on the 19th, a man answered the phone. I informed him who I was and that I may have found an item that he had lost some time ago. I told him I thought I may have found his class ring. Mr Myers was taken back by this and asked where I had found it. After giving him the story of how and where I found the ring, I then described it to him. He told me he had lost his ring shortly after getting it but could not remember how or where he may have lost it. He told me it had been sometime since he had even given the ring any thought. I asked if he would like the ring back and that we could meet so I could give his ring back. It was decided that we would meet at the Coffee Co in Lancaster that upcoming Tuesday.
Well this morning I met Mr Myers at the Coffe Co. When Mr Myers arrived he asked if I was Dan and then he sat down. I showed him the ring and he said, well that is my ring, I almost forgot what it looked like. We then taled about how I found the ring. He told me again that it had been a long time since he thought of the ring. He could not remeber how he came to lose the ring. He thinks he lost it in 1969, since he thinks he got it his Junior year of High school. He was astounded that I found his class ring that had been lost for 40 years! He asked if he could give me something for finding his ring, I told him no; I only wanted him to pass on the good Karma and if he knew of anyone that had lost anything to consider giving my information. I also asked hime if he knew of any areas where he lives in Litiz, that I may hunt to let me know. For the next hour we sat drinking coffee and tea; telling stories of our lives. When it was time to go he insisted that he give me something for my trouble. I told him that it was not neccessary but if he felt strong enough about ok. He then proceeded to give me 20 dollars. We parted on great terms, awesome feelings and good karma!