Southridge class ring makes 3,600-mile, 36-year round trip

How the heck did that ring get to Idaho?

That’s what I thought when Jan Olinger posted a thank you on Facebook about a lost class ring returned to him after it was found in Idaho.

Jan’s 1982 Southridge class ring had been lost in 1979.

“I thought I had lost it at Lincoln Park in 1979, since that is where our family went camping during the summer,” Jan explained.

As any teen would be, Jan was nervous about losing the ring and didn’t want anyone to know.

“I only had it a school year and knew my parents would not be happy if it was lost that quickly, so the following year, I ordered another one so that they wouldn’t know it was gone,” he said.

The original ring had been ordered from Jan’s grandfather, Ervin Kruger, who owned Kruger Jewelers at the time. But, since Jan didn’t want the family to know the ring was lost, he ordered it from his grandfather’s competition, another Huntingburg business on Fourth Street, Welp Jewelers.

“My grandfather and Welp did not get along. They were fierce competitors, which I knew and I was trying not to be seen going in there to get the second ring.” he explained. “Regardless, I got caught by my grandfather, but he was the only one who knew that I had lost that ring.”

Then, on June 5, Jan received a Facebook message from Jeff Shepard. Jeff, who lives in Nampa, Idaho, asked Jan if he had graduated from Southridge High School in 1982.

Jan answered, “Sure, why?”

Jeff explained he had found a 1982 Southridge class ring with Jan’s name on it while using a metal detector exploring the site of an old house built in the 1940s.

“I have been detecting since 2013 and have found out that half the hunt is finding the story and history behind the items you find,” Jeff explained.

Jeff had received permission to detect on the property the company he works for owns. “I found the ring and two silver coins an hour into detecting and called it quits for the day,” Jeff said about the search of the old home that was no longer standing. “As soon as I got the ring home and saw the name on the inside, the hunt was on to find the owner.”

Jan thought it was a joke until Jeff sent him the photo. “I was majorly surprised,” he said. “I have never been to Idaho, so how it migrated there from Indiana over the past 36 years is anyone’s guess.”

Now, the ring sits on a dresser at Jan’s home with the replacement ring he purchased from his grandfather’s competitor. A reminder of an amazing story and how small the world is at times.