The Onyx Ring Story

In 1967, after obtaining a master's degree in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I moved back to Atlanta with a new husband, who was returning to college in Georgia following his service in the Air Force. I began my first professional job, and we lived in an apartment off Peachtree Street. Our big splurge was to go to Morrison's Cafeteria in Buckhead for their all-you-can-eat boiled shrimp on Wednesday nights.

After one such meal, we returned to our apartment, where I discovered that my Agnes Scott onyx ring was missing. My husband teased me, saying that I had swallowed it during all the messiness of that meal. As you can imagine, I checked with Morrison's regularly, and they repeatedly told me that it had not been found. I was so sad!

One day, years later, I received a call from a staff member in the Office of Alumnae Relations at the college asking if I had lost my class ring. She told me that a teenage boy had called their office because he was tired of seeing my ring on his mother's dresser. Apparently, the boy's mother was an elementary teacher in an Atlanta public school on the west side of Atlanta, and a young girl had worn my ring to school. She was intrigued as to why this little girl was wearing such an interesting ring, so she asked here about it. The girl told her that her mother worked at Morrison's Cafeteria and had found the ring in the ladies' room where I had taken it off to wash my hands. The smart teacher told the class that some woman was sad that she had lost her ring — and wouldn't it be fun if they could find its owner and return it, like a scavenger hunt. She was having trouble making the time to follow through, which is why her son

stepped up. So, the Alumnae Office contacted me to ask if I had lost my ring. The B.A., the '64 and my initials were a clue. Yay!!!

The teacher and I agreed that I would meet her at school to claim my ring. The principal allowed me to speak over the intercom during the school's morning announcements to say how happy I was that these kind people had taken the time to return my ring. And I took an age-appropriate gift to the little girl in exchange for my ring. Everyone was happy!

Do you have a special onyx ring story? Let us know at alumnae@agnesscott.edu!