ARTICLE APPEARED IN ‘THE TIMES’ NEWSPAPER, OTTAWA, IL – SATURDAY, NOV. 25, 2006
RETURN OF THE RING
WEB SITE KEY TO REUNITED CLASS RING WITH OWNER
CRAIG LINTON, A 1969 GRADUATE OF MARSEILLES HIGH SCHOOL,
HAD OWNED HIS CLASS RING FOR ONLY A COUPLE OF YEARS
BEFORE IT ENDED UP MISSING. BUT TO HIS SURPRISE,
HE RECENTLY LEARNED THE RING HAD BEEN IN SAFE KEEPING
ALMOST FROM THE TIME IT HAD BEEN LOST.
AND MONDAY AFTERNOON IN THE TIMES OFFICE IN MARSEILLES
IT WAS SLIPPED BACK ON HIS FINGER TO HIS OBVIOUS PLEASURE.
ALTHOUGH ATTEMPTS HAD BEEN MADE AT THE TIME TO FIND THE RING'S OWNER, IT WAS THE MARSEILLES CLASSMATES INTERNET WEB SITE THAT PROVIDED THE LINK THAT FINALLY, AFTER 35 YEARS, ALLOWED THE RING TO BE RETURNED.
THE RING HAD BEEN A GIFT FROM LINTON TO HIMSELF. HE HAD EARNED THE APPROXIMATELY $100 IT COST.
"IN THOSE DAYS I USED TO MOW LAWNS AFTER SCHOOL," SAID LINTON, A LIFELONG MARSEILLES RESIDENT.
AFTER HIGH SCHOOL HE ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, AND THAT'S THE LAST TIME LINTON REMEMBERS SEEING THE RING. "I THOUGHT MAYBE I GAVE IT TO A GIRLFRIEND."
ACTUALLY HE HAD LOST IT. AND IT WAS FRANK EMS, A CUSTODIAN AT THE U OF I SPORTS FACILITY THAT FOUND IT, ACCORDING TO EMS' GREAT-NEPHEW, PATRICK STEPHENS OF WAUNAKEE, WIS.
EMS TRIED TO FIND THE OWNER THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY, BUT WAS TOLD THERE WERE TOO MANY STUDENTS TO HELP HIM, STEPHENS SAID. INSTEAD OF TURNING IT IN, EMS TOOK THE RING HOME.
LATER, HIS WIFE, FREIDA, ASKED HER NIECE -- STEPHENS' MOTHER -- TO HELP FIND THE RING'S OWNER. BECAUSE THE RING HAD THE LETTER "M" ON A BLUE BACKGROUND, THE NIECE SPECULATED THE RING WAS FROM MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY.
SHE CONTACTED MARQUETTE BUT FOUND THE SAME RELUCTANCE TO HELP THAT FRANK EMS HAD ENCOUNTERED AT THE U OF I. THE RING SHOWS THE NAME MARSEILLES -- BUT THAT WAS THOUGHT TO BE THE OWNER'S HOMETOWN.
OVER THE YEARS FRANK EMS PASSED ON, BUT HIS WIFE NEVER GAVE UP OWNERSHIP OF THE RING -- OR ON FINDING THE OWNER.
ON OCT. 31, AS STEPHENS' FATHER WAS RELATING A STORY TO FREIDA EMS, NOW 94, ABOUT USING THE INTERNET TO PUT A WORLD WAR II VETERAN IN CONTACT WITH A WARTIME BUDDY, SHE ASKED STEPHENS IF HE WOULD SEE IF THE INTERNET COULD SOLVE THE RIDDLE OF THE RING'S OWNER.
IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG. THE NEXT EVENING STEPHENS FOUND THE MARSEILLES CLASSMATES WEB SITE.
ALTHOUGH THE SCHOOL CLOSED IN 1990, THE BOND AMONG ALUMNI HAS BEEN STRONG.
THE SITE HAD BEEN STARTED IN 2002 WITH SOME TYPED LISTS THAT ALREADY WERE 11 YEARS OLD AND BADLY OUT OF DATE.
OVER THE PAST YEARS, MARIANNE DAHL OF MARSEILLES HAS BEEN MAINTAINING AND UPDATING THE WEB SITE, ADDING NEW NAMES AND WEEDING OUT BAD INFORMATION, WITH THE HELP OF ITS WEB MASTER, RYAN HOPKINS OF SENECA.
HOPKINS WORKED WITH THE SITE AS A SCHOOL PROJECT WHILE ATTENDING SENECA TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL, AND STAYED WITH THE PROJECT EVEN THOUGH HE NOW COMMUTES TO DEVRY UNIVERSITY IN TINLEY PARK.
DAHL SAID THERE ARE OTHER VOLUNTEERS WHO HELP KEEP THE SITE TIMELY AND EXPANDING. THE LATEST GOAL IS TO ADD PHOTOS OF SCHOOL GRADUATES.
ADELINE DALE, A SECRETARY AT THE SCHOOL, HAS BEEN CONTACTED ABOUT SCANNING THE 60 YEARS OF CLASS PHOTOS WHICH HANG IN THE OLD HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH IS NOW THE TOWN'S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
STEPHENS CORRECTLY DEDUCED THAT SINCE THE RING WAS A STYLE WORN BY MALES, HAD THE CLASS YEAR 1969 AND THE INITIALS "CL" THAT LINTON WAS THE OBVIOUS OWNER.
STEPHENS E-MAILED LINTON, BUT WHEN HE DIDN'T GET A REPLY E-MAILED DAHL, WHO RESPONDED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AND GOT IN TOUCH WITH LINTON.
MONDAY AFTERNOON, DAHL PULLED THE RING FROM HER POCKET, AND AT LINTON'S REQUEST PUT IT ON HIS HAND. IT NO LONGER FIT HIS RING FINGER, BUT SLIPPED NICELY ON HIS PINKY.
FOR HER HELP, LINTON GAVE DAHL A HUG, AND SUCCESS WAS CONVEYED TO LINTON.
"I TOOK ON THIS TASK FOR THE WIDOW OF THE JANITOR, WHO WOULD BE HAPPY TO KNOW THAT THE RING FOUND ITS WAY BACK TO THE ORIGINAL OWNER," SAID DAHL.
LINTON PLANS TO MAKE UP FOR 35 YEARS OF LOST WEARING TIME.
"I'M GOING TO WEAR IT -- NOT ALL THE TIME, BUT I'M GOING TO WEAR IT."
AND HE WILL BE SHOWING IT OFF AS WELL -- TO HIS FAMILY TO START WITH.
"I TOLD MY KIDS ABOUT THIS AND NOBODY BELIEVED ME. BUT WHEN IT COMES OUT IN THE PAPER THEN I'LL BE VINDICATED."
THE MARSEILLES HIGH SCHOOL CLASSMATES WEB SITE IS AT WWW.MARSEILLESIL.NET
