A high school class ring is a valued possession and symbol of personal accomplishment. Unfortunately, the loss of class rings (also called senior rings) is not uncommon. Some are misplaced. Some are stolen. Some just fall (unnoticed) from the graduate’s finger while he or she is involved in ordinary every day activities.
Such was the case for Valley Vidrine, a 1962 Basile High School graduate, when he lost his ring during June of 1962, approximately one month after graduating.
While in attendance at Spencer Business College in Lafayette, Vidrine was participating in a pick up game of basketball with his college classmates near Johnston Street.
Later during the day, he noticed that he was missing his ring. He returned to the baskeball court to look for it, but was very disappointed when his search ended empty handed.
Of course, he was upset about losing the ring, not because it had cost him $36 (a hefty amount in those days), but because it had sentimental value. The loss really hit him seven months later when he was in the United States Air Force. “Everyone in the service was showing off their class rings and talking about where they were from. I was the only one without a ring,” said Vidrine.
The lost ring, however, would not to remain lost forever. On Thursday, May 3, Vidrine excitedly had his ring returned to him by Marty Anderson of Broussard. Anderson (while searching the Johnston Street area with a metal detector) found the ring near the basketball court where Vidrine lost it 56 years ago.
The ring was in perfect condition, making it rather easy to discover its owner. Anderson called Basile High School, describing the ring and noting that the initials VV were inscribed on the inside. Officials at the school had no problem identifying the owner and putting Anderson in contact with Valley.
By phone, Vidrine described the ring and the area where he lost it. This convinced Anderson that he had, indeed, found the owner. The two men met at Sears in the Acadiana Mall in Lafayette for the exchange.
Vidrine was in shock with the discovery of the ring and how well it was preserved. “It is unreal. I didn’t think this would ever happen. It was like finding a needle in a haystack,” he said. The only change he had to make to the ring was resizing.
Vidrine recalls his high school days with a sparkle in his eyes. Jokingly, he said that one of his fondest school memories was playing volleyball at recess. At Basile High, he was a member of the wrestling team, the basketball team, and the Future Farmers of America. He also said that he felt that he was prepared to go to Spencer Business College after his studies at BHS.
The tradition of the senior ring continues at Basile High School today as it does at most American schools with the BHS Class of 2019 recently receiving their rings in a formal group ceremony at the school.
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DARREL LEJEUNE