Class of 1959

'THE RING, Class of 1959" Published in QCommunique 11-19-2010
https://www.qcsd.org/cms/lib/PA01000005/Centricity/Domain/1/qc11-19.pdf

Facebook? How about Alice-book?
Recently, Alice Bishop, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent, helped connect a QCHS alumnus (class of 1959) and a total stranger in New Jersey, who recently found his class ring!
"It's amazing what kind of detective work you can do with the internet," Alice said.
In mid-October, Alice received an email from Lette Magrini from Oakland, N.J. Lette did her own share of detective work to get the ring rolling, so to speak.
"I was going through a small box of things from my father, who passed away in 1989, and I came across a Quakertown Community High School, Class of 1959 school ring," she wrote Alice. "Gold, about a size 9, with onyx face, and a "Quaker" in the middle. Inside are the initials in script 'H A.' I have had this little box for years...even before he passed away. Never noticed the ring until today."
Lette said she had no idea how her father wound up with the ring. She guessed he found it while looking for rocks, a lifelong hobby.
"He lived almost his whole life in north Jersey. Not sure if he was ever in Quakertown," Lette wrote. "Anyway, I found your name and your e-mail on the QCSD website. I am wondering if you might know who has the initials H.A., and if he/she lost their ring?"
Alice sifted through alumni names from the class of 1959, finding a Horst Adler, or H.A. She googled his name and discovered that he runs a church camp for kids in or near Phoenix, so she sent a message through that website. In a matter of minutes, he emailed back through his personal email.
"Dear Alice, Thank you for contacting me regarding this issue. Yes, my high school ring disappeared around 1960-1961. It is a long story. If that ring still exists, I would like to recover it."
Thus began a series of emails between Horst and Lette, Horst and Alice, Alice and Lette. Stories of love, immigration and culture emerged.
Horst, pictured in 1959, at left, explained that he gave his ring to a girlfriend when they went "steady" in 1960-61 in Philadelphia. When they broke up, she never returned the ring. He lost contact with her. Meanwhile, Horst asked Lette about her name. Her response led to an interesting story about her mother's immigration from Paris, her grand parents' immigration from Hungary and Horst's immigration from Poland and Germany.

Lette's father collected rocks. He acquired a tremendous rock collection in his lifetime, much of it with hammer and chisel at quarries in New Jersey. He traded with collectors all over the world.
Before he passed away, Lette's father gave her a little plastic box with faceted gemstones in it. She liked jewelry. "Most are synthetic, but pretty enough that if I wanted to, I could have had set into rings or something," she wrote. "That little box has been in a dresser drawer for probably 30 years! My brother mentioned something about a gemstone-quality piece of Prehnite that my father found, and faceted himself. The first place I thought to look for it was that little box. Although it wasn't in there (and I have looked at those stones a number of times) I only noticed the ring in there yesterday! With the wonder of the Internet, I googled the high school, found Alice's e-mail address and in less than 24 hours the rightful owner is found! [And in Horst's hands in the picture at right!] What a great human interest story!"
She guessed that her father found Horst's ring during one of his digs or at a mineral show. "He held onto it for whatever reason and stuck it into the little box. Perhaps he thought it was 14k gold. Maybe it is, but usually class rings are 10k. Maybe he was going to sell it? He was a pretty frugal guy."
Lette boxed the ring and mailed it to Horst. "This whole story just makes me smile!" she wrote.
Horst wrote back, "This whole scenario amazes me for two particular reasons. First, I commend you for taking the initiative to try to find the owner of a ring lost in your father's box for over thirty years. Not many people would have taken time out of their busy schedule to bother with such a seemingly insignificant detail. Second, the efficiency and effectiveness of the internet was exemplified. It took less than 24 hours from finding the ring to the identification of the owner. Wow! That is almost scary. To me, this is more than just a remarkable human interest story."
Horst explained his upbringing as an immigrant. Born in Poland in 1941, he lived in Germany and later moved to the United States with his mother and sister.
"We settled in a little Latvian Village called Applebachsville, six miles from Quakertown," he said. "After graduating from high school, we relocated to Philadelphia so that I could attend Drexel. It was in Philly that I met Valda [the steady girlfriend], and that was the beginning of the ring story. Flashbacks and memories are indeed joyous."
Lette did not want Horst to pay for the postage, even though he offered. "Consider it 50 years of interest! LOL!" she wrote.
Alice concluded, "This has been quite a journey. It's given me a few laughs as well. I remember 'going steady.' LOL, you don't hear that expression these days!"
Concluded Lette, "Who doesn't like a good story, with a happy ending!"

Horst_Adler_class_of_1959
Horst Adler Class of 1959

horst_Adler_with_his_long_lost_ring
Horst posing in November 2010
with his long lost ring!

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