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Senior class rings are a way to remember the fun times of high school and the good friends you made along the way. But what if you lost that special, irreplaceable ring the symbolized the good times of your past? One man in Franklin learned the hard way when his class ring went missing over four decades ago.
After graduating from Franklin High School in 1978, Terry Bruce would wear his class ring to mark the milestone. He kept the ring close until about a year later when he was playing frisbee with friends at Percy Warner Park. After throwing the disk, his ring went flying through the air and disappeared somewhere on the vast grounds, per News Channel 5.
"Needless to say, we were on our hands and knees the rest of the day until dark trying to find it," he said. "No luck at all."
Bruce had given up hope of finding the ring, instead relegating the tale into one of how he lost the high school symbol. Imagine his surprise when he was contacted by someone saying they had found the missing piece of jewelry, 42 years later.
Courtney Eoff, a volunteer at Franklin High, said she has had a class ring sitting in her home for the past eight years after her husband found it buried about seven inches underground at Percy Warner Park. Now in her first year volunteering at the school, she had access to past yearbooks to match the initials inscribed in the ring to the potential owner. As luck would have it, she found Bruce's name within 30 minutes.
"She said you're not going to believe this, but I think I have your ring," he recalled.
Bruce collected his long-lost ring at his alma mater after describing it in detail over the phone. The ring is in good shape, he said, so he plans to have it cleaned and detailed while continuing the tell the tale of how he lost — and now found — his beloved class ring.
"Even though he had his mask on, you could just totally see it in his eyes that he was so appreciative," said Eoff.
Check out the video below to see Bruce tell his story and reunite with his beloved ring, courtesy of Franklin High School.