3 minute read
Lost and Found
The Journey of a Ring
By Sunni Zemblowski
We all cherish items – whether it is photographs, music albums, or childhood toys – that remind us of the important events and the significant people in our lives. When one of these items is lost, it can be hard to let go of the hope you will find it. For Richard A. Cannon, this was true for his GSW class ring.
The Accomplishment and the Ring
Cannon, a native of Albany, Ga., graduated from Georgia Southwestern in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science in biology. “The following year,” Cannon recalled, “my mother… had given me a class ring as a late graduation present.” The ring was significant to Cannon, not only because it represented his time at GSW, but because his mother, who worked at Dougherty High School as the school’s secretary, purchased the ring.
“Even though she didn’t have a lot of money to go around,” Cannon said, “she still wanted to get me that ring…For her, it was a big accomplishment for me to get a degree.”
It was a standard college ring – silver with engravings of the year and Cannon’s degree on the sides, accented by black stain. The stone was blue, and Cannon’s initials were engraved on the inside of the band.
Lost
After graduating from GSW, Cannon continued to live in Albany, Ga., and taught at Dougherty High from 1974 to 1975. It was at this time that Cannon lost his class ring. “I was afraid that someone might have stolen it, but also that I may have lost it one day swimming,” said Cannon. “The last time I remember having the ring, I went swimming in Radium Creek, just south of the Springs. I remember putting [the ring] in my shoe on the bank, but don’t remember getting it out… It really disappointed my mother.”
After some time, Cannon’s hope to find the ring waned. He joined the Army in 1975 and worked in the medical laboratories. While in the Army, he travelled around the United States and met Deborah Boden. When Cannon got out of the Army in 1980, he and Deborah, who goes by Debbie, both came to GSW to get their Masters of Education. Cannon graduated in 1983, while Debbie received her degree in 1985.
Since then, Richard and Debbie have married, moved back to Indiana, and Cannon became a certified Medical Technologist. The thought of the ring had all but disappeared, until Cannon received an email from the Karen Holloway, director of GSW Alumni Affairs.
Found
One evening in September of this year, Chris Johnson of Albany was walking with his grandson picking up golf balls and found something much more valuable.
“My grandson and I will hit golf balls across the yard, and we’ve knocked a few over the fence,” Johnson explained. “So, we went over the fence and collected our golf balls, and when we came out from under the bushes, I found [the ring] stuck in the dirt by the off-ramp. Half of it was sticking out from under the dirt, so I popped it out, brought it home, and cleaned it up.”
Johnson who lives near the US 19 off-ramp, and about two miles from Radium Springs, had his coworker, Tommy Young, contact the GSW Alumni Affairs office. Within days, Richard Cannon received an email and contacted Johnson directly.
“I talked to [Cannon] on a Saturday and he described [the ring] to a tee,” said Johnson. “On Monday morning, I went and mailed it out. On Thursday afternoon, he called me telling me that he had received the ring and he sounded like he was almost in tears because he had got his ring back… he was really, really glad … he was ecstatic.”
“He also told me that his mama struggled to buy that ring for him and it really meant a whole lot to him, more than I would ever know,” Johnson concluded.
The area next to the off-ramp of US 19 where Chris Johnson found the lost class ring of Richard Cannon.
Back at Home
“I am so thankful someone found it and had the integrity to turn it in,” remarked Cannon. The return is bittersweet, however; Cannon’s mother died in January of 2010. “If only my mother was still alive to find out that it had been found and returned after all these years.”
