Metal detection and social media can make magic happen.
Take, for instance, the recent return of an Austin Peay State University class ring from 1966.
According to a Facebook post from Don Mathis, his cherished token marked the occasion as the first collegian in his family. He’d go on to graduate with a master’s and doctorate from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, but credits APSU helping him “regain academic footing” in his earlier years.
As such, his Governor background “means so much.”
Mathis said in the late 1970’s, he couldn’t find his ring. Searching and searching to no avail, he’d concluded it was likely lost while water skiing in Lake Barkley. He’d given up hope.
An email from Mike DeVries, of Liberty, Missouri, rekindled a chance.
DeVries wrote: “I may have your college ring.” Mathis replied: “School? Year?” DeVries responded: “Austin Peay. 1966. Initials: DRM.”
It was the one Mathis had lost. He had more questions. “How did you find it? How did you find me? How can I get it back?”
DeVries told Mathis he’d been metal detecting in a Kansas City park and found it buried. He said he had a friend who had access to online college yearbooks, and could locate a 1966 APSU guide. This friend then searched through all the graduates with initials “DRM,” and found his name.
From there, DeVries reached out through Facebook and online.
Mathis remembered that he’d only been to Kansas City but one time. In 1977, he was walking back from his car to a local convention center, attending a Southern Baptist Convention with the Southern Seminary. On the way, he found it appropriate to flip his Austin Peay ring to a Seminary ring, and in the process, must’ve missed his pocket in the switch.
It fell to the grass, where it remained mostly undisturbed for more than four decades.
And now, it’s back on his finger where it belongs.
