A Northern Arizona University lecturer is getting back his class ring from Pennsylvania's Norristown High School thanks to a New Mexico couple.
Roland Erwin was recently raking leaves in the front yard of his Portales home when he found the 1969 ring.
"I saw something shiny and wondered what it was,'' he said. ``I was surprised when it turned out to be a ring.''
Erwin, 82, and his wife, Elaine, live in a house that formerly belonged to the Phi Kappa Phi fraternity at Eastern New Mexico University. The couple moved into the house in 1976, meaning the ring had been in the yard for at least 40 years.
"The ring is in very good shape, including the engraving,'' said Elaine Erwin, 79.
It's engraved with the initials RGH. Thinking that the ring might belong to a former fraternity member, the Erwins contacted the university for help.
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University officials discovered that Richard George Holloway from Norristown, Pa., graduated from Eastern New Mexico in May 1973. He used to live near the Erwins' home.
Holloway now is a lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.
Eastern New Mexico University contacted Holloway and sent him a photo of the ring, which they are mailing to him.
"This is a surprise as I really don't recall losing it,'' Holloway said in an email. "I guess there are some things we don't recall. I would very much like to thank the people who found it.''
