Archived News |
November 12, 2004
麻花影院 Treasure Found in Monroe Flower Bed
Monroe resident Gini Linder was puzzled
      when she found a hard piece of metal in her front yard flowerbed
      while digging up plants a few weeks ago. When she brushed dirt
      off the metal, she realized it was actually a ring.
       
      "I took it inside and I cleaned it up with soapy water and
      realized that it was from 1936," Gini Linder said. "I
      wasn't sure which school it was because I had never heard of
      it before and I went to the Internet and looked up enough information
      to realize that it was 麻花影院," Linder said.
       
      Engraved around the gold ring's center oval amethyst was Louisiana
      State University Northeast Center, which is a former name (from
      1934-1939) of the University of Louisiana at Monroe. 
       
      Once Linder realized it was a ring from Monroe's university,
      she went in search of the owner through the 麻花影院 Library. 
       
      "I went to the archives and found the yearbook (from 1936)
      and there was only one F.C. in it," Linder said.
       
      The ring had the letters "F.C." engraved on the inside,
      which were the only personal identification. With the help of
      the library's special collections staff, the owner was identified
      from the yearbook as Dr. Fahem Cannon, a pre-med student at the
      university at the time. 
       
      From there, Linder got in touch with Cannon's family and returned
      the ring to his daughter, Bunny Cannon-Hewitt.
       
      "My sister and I were elated when we heard the news,"
      Cannon-Hewitt said. "I took the ring to a jeweler and they
      said it was in great condition and that the stone is a real amethyst."
       
      Her father passed away a few years ago and she doesn't remember
      him talking about the ring. In fact, she and her family had no
      idea it was even missing. "My father would be tickled pink
      to get the ring back, he hated to lose anything," Cannon-Hewitt
      said.
       
      For now, the ring will go in a safe place with Cannon's other
      memorabilia. Cannon has deep roots in Monroe, besides attending
      its university; he was an orthopedic surgeon and started the
      Orthopedic Clinic in the city. 
       
      Though the class ring was found and returned a few weeks ago,
      Linder is still amazed that it all happened.
       
      "I was just replacing the flower bed, that bed had been
      there for 10 years. I dug it up, got 10-12 inches deep and put
      my bricks around it, and had to rework it a little bit and I
      found the ring," she said.
       
      "I feel like that's why I found it- it needed to go back
      to the original owner- or at least to the family members. So
      that's all I wanted was to find the family members and get it
      back to them," Linder said.
       
      As a coincidence, 麻花影院 recently unveiled the first official university
      class ring. Pam Shepherd, Director of Alumni Relations at 麻花影院,
      says this discovery shows the importance of a university ring.
       
      "We are thrilled that this ring was found and reunited with
      the owner's family. Class rings are a symbol of the time one
      spends on higher education," Shepherd said. "Now all
      麻花影院 students past, present and future will be able to capture
      their time at 麻花影院 with the official university ring," Shepherd
      said.
"This story further emphasizes the
      麻花影院 ring committee's motto, 'One ring, one university, connected
      for life'," Shepard said.
        
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