Another OHS Class Ring Comes Home

The new year started out great for one OHS 1996 alumni, Jennifer L. Gardner of Mullens. It all began eleven years ago when Jennifer, then living in Naoma, WV, somehow lost her class ring, not expecting to ever see it again. The ring meant a lot to her, not only because of her graduation, but the fact that her grandfather had purchased it for her.

About two years ago, Debra Harless of St. Albans, WV, had found the 1996 class ring. She had made several phone calls to the Oceana area trying to find the owner, but was not successful. Finally, she contacted the Wyoming County Board of Education and they advised her to call the Oceana Middle School, which put her in touch with Bob and Mae Cook, OHSAA members and 1972 alumni. After a call to the Cook's and a description with details of the ring, they told her they would do their best to locate the owner of the ring.

On January 5, 2012, the ring was finally back in Oceana. Bob and Mae's son, Brian, a 1995 OHS graduate was home at the time and knew immediately who the ring belonged to because of the name Jennifer on the side and her initials, JLG, on the inside. Brian also knew how to contact Jennifer on Facebook, so he sent her a message to call them. Within the hour, she called the Cook's, described her ring and Bob informed her that the class ring had been found.

On January 6, a very excited Jennifer drove from Itmann, WV, to Oceana to pick up the class ring she thought she would never see again.