He found what? After 63 years, she gets her class ring back
http://www.gvnews.com/news/he-found-what-after-years-she-gets-her-class-ring/article_5d12e13c-83b0-11e7-a196-bb44d16519af.html
Again and again, Carol Bates-Smith and her friends dove into the depths of Shell Lake in northern Wisconsin hoping to catch a glimmer of the high school class ring that had slipped off her finger in the summer of 1954. Their efforts turned up nothing and they gave up.
The years ticked by and Bates-Smith eventually forgot about the ring. Then the phone rang earlier this month.
Bates-Smith listened in disbelief to a message from a stranger named Van Kinnunen, calling from Grand View, Wisconsin.
He'd found a gold ring, and he was pretty sure it was hers. After a quick phone call and email with a photo, it was confirmed.
“She told me that the first miracle was that I’d found the ring and the second miracle was that she was still alive to enjoy it,†Kinnunen said.
Bates-Smith, 82, lost the ring two years after she graduated from Storm Lake High School, in Storm Lake, Iowa.
“I just wrote the ring off,†said the former synchronized swimmer and lifeguard. “That lake has a very sandy bottom and I just figured it had been enveloped in sand.â€
Kinnunen, 44, has used a metal detector for about six years and decided a year ago to become a certified scuba diver and combine his two new loves. He and his buddy, Mike Kirkland, spend nearly every weekend diving with underwater cameras.
“I’ve always been interested in metal detecting and I’m fascinated about treasure hunting and the idea of finding lost treasures below the waves,†he said.
Kinnunen has found plenty of coins, jewelry and junk over the last year, but this is the first time he’s found something that he could trace back to its owner. But that took some work, too.
Finding, tracing
On July 30, Kinnunen headed to Shell Lake about an hour from his home and met up with Kirkland. They’d had good luck there in the past, especially near some old anchor barrels once used to hold down diving platforms.
A few minutes after finding a penny from the 1930s, Kinnunen said his metal detector let out a mid-level tone, which could mean gold, a lead sinker or a pull tab from a soda can.
But just an inch or two below the sand, Kinnunen found a slightly tarnished class ring with a blue stone inscribed with “1952†and the initials C and J.
When he first read the ring, he thought it said Stone Lake â€" a nearby community â€" but quickly realized there wasn’t a high school there in 1952. He looked closer and saw the ring actually said Storm Lake, and had a tornado mascot.
After time on the internet and some phone calls, Kinnunen connected the dots. Storm Lake, Iowa, Storm Lake High School, Storm Lake Alumni Association, Carol Johnson and, finally, Carol Bates-Smith, Green Valley, Arizona.
After their phone conversation, Kinnunen cleaned up the ring and shipped it to Bates-Smith with a thank you note.
Yes, he thanked her, Bates-Smith said with a laugh.
“I thanked her for letting me be a part of the story,†Kinnunen said. “I’m sure that ring is going to be a family heirloom one day, it’s going to be passed down and it’s just so great to be a part of that story.â€
As for Bates-Smith, she, too, sent a thank you note along with a little “token of appreciation†that she prefers remain private.
For the past 60-plus years, Bates-Smith said she’s been getting together with 10 high school girlfriends almost annually. She can’t wait to share the story at their next reunion in Wichita, Kansas, next month.
Prior to her trip, she said she’ll be reaching out to the ring’s maker, Jostens. Thanks to arthritis, the ring doesn’t fit anymore, but she wants to see what they can do about that.
She’s already posted the story on Facebook and everyone has shared her amazement.
“I just feel this is like one of those extraordinary stories that’s interesting to tell,†she said. “I think Van’s pretty special. I’ve told him thank you a thousand times.â€
Kim Smith | 547-9740