Scott Nelson had possession of his class ring for less than a month when he lost it his sophomore year of high school. He had theories of what happened or where it was. All he knew for certain was it disappeared.
“My mom always accused me of giving it to some girl and never getting it back,” Nelson said.
That was 1988.
Twenty-five years later, Nelson is speaking on the phone to a man who has his ring. A quarter-century of questions now have an answer.
Through a series of unusual circumstances, Nelson’s ring went from his finger to underneath the back seat of his car and into a safe. It remained there 21 more years until the social media website Facebok helped reunite Nelson with his prized possession.
One day before his 41st birthday, Nelson slid the ring on his hand –– this time only fitting his pinky instead of the appropriate ring finger –– for the first time since he was 16.
“It reminds me of the story of the Incredible Journey, where the dog spends all these years lost and he’s grown up when he finds his way home,” Nelson said. “That’s the story of my ring.”
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Nelson, a Houston resident and trooper with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, attended Orchard Farm High School in St. Charles County. He graduated in 1990 as part of a class of 65 students.
When it was time to purchase a class ring, Nelson recalls his mother spending about $350 on his. It came from Jostens.
“The last day I remember having the ring, I showed up at my grandparents’ house,” Nelson said. “When I got there, my grandfather had put a ladder against the end of the house to paint the gable ends. My grandmother came out and asked me to go up there and paint them for grandpa because she didn’t want him on the ladder.
“I remember I was dressed well. I had my class ring on and was trying to be careful with it. I took it off and put it in my front pocket. I remember my jeans were kind of tight, and I didn’t put it all the way down in the pocket. That’s the last day I remember seeing it.”
Nelson assumed he lost the ring in his grandparents’ yard. They later sold the property, and he came to the realization it was gone. Forever. It was a point of frustration over the years.
“My mom has really held it over my head that I lost my class ring,” Nelson said. “I don’t know if I had it a month before I lost it.”
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Scotty Hart purchased an early 1980s Chevrolet Chevette in Perryville. He owned the car about four years. As he prepared to sell it, he removed the back seat to clean the vehicle. Underneath was a class ring.
“I just picked it up and thought, ‘Somebody is going to want that some day,’” Hart recalled. “I knew it meant something to somebody.”
It was 1992 –– long before the ease of tracing someone over the Internet. Hart tucked the ring away in his personal safe.
The ring laid out of sight and out of Hart’s mind for 21 years. He was rummaging through the safe in early June, looking at some of his possessions, when he saw the ring.
“I just happened to be going through my safe and thought, ‘You know what, I’ll see if I can’t get online and find this guy,” said Hart, a miner in Ellington. “Maybe he is still alive and maybe if he’s not, I can find someone who can get it to his family.”
Hart logged onto Facebook and searched for “Orchard Farm High School.” He found a woman who organized reunions and alumni events for the school. Hart told her he had a ring from the high school. It had the year “1990” on the left side and “Scott Nelson” engraved inside.
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Nelson hardly believed the text message. His class ring had been found under the back seat of his old car. And the person who found it was trying to contact him.
Nelson connected with Hart and heard the entire story: the old Chevette, placing the ring in a safe and the Facebook message. A few days later, Nelson’s ring arrives in the mail.
It didn’t fit his ring finger, but Nelson did slide it on his pinky. It was in surprisingly good shape.
“It was the first time it had been on my hand in 25 years,” Nelson said.
After talking to Hart and doing his best to remember the circumstances, Nelson has a best guess of what happened to the ring.
“I don’t remember this, but I would suspect I borrowed a pair of shorts from my uncle, who was about the same age, to go swimming after being up on the ladder and probably just threw my pants in the back of my car and the ring fell out,” Nelson said. “That’s probably what happened.”
Nelson said he sold the car locally through the newspaper. He wasn’t sure how many owners it had before Hart purchased the vehicle in 1989.
Nelson said he was encouraged by the fact someone would find the ring and make the effort to locate him. He said he plans to send Hart a gift of appreciation.
He also has a special gift for his mother, who he hasn’t told the good news. Nelson said he will mail her a copy of the newspaper article to announce the ring reunion.
As for the ring, Nelson said it will be placed in a memory box with his other keepsakes.
“Everyone has a class ring lying in a box, but not many people have a story to go along with it,” he said. “I think the story is worth the wait.”
Everyone has a class ring lying in a box, but not many people have a story to go along with it. I think the story is worth the wait.”