PCHS grad recovers class ring missing for 30 years

Frankie Adams lost his class ring shortly after graduating from Phil Campbell High School, more than 30 years ago. Recently, a stranger was able to locate him and return the ring – with a little help from Facebook.

By Alison James

alison.james@fct.wpengine.com

For many high school students, perhaps the most exciting emblem that represents maturity and a progression toward graduation is the traditional class ring.

For Phil Campbell High School 1982 graduate Frankie Adams, it was a short-lived part of his life.

“I lost it soon after graduation in 1982 while working in Tennessee,” said Adams, who now lives in Sikeston, Mo.

But a couple of weeks ago, after more than 30 years, Adams was reunited with his ring when the finder reached out on Facebook to try to locate the ring’s owner.

Phillip W. Johnson, of Perrier, Tenn., had run across the ring mixed in with his in-laws things. They had found it years ago but had been unsuccessful in locating its owner. Noticing the name inscribed on the inside of the band, Johnson decided to renew the search.

“I committed to trying really hard to find this Mr. Franklin C. Adams,” Johnson said.

A few years went by, but calls and emails to Phil Campbell High School led Johnson nowhere. He said he kept the ring on his desk, still determined to find Adams but having run out of contact options.

That’s when his niece, Tabitha Merrell, decided to reach out to Facebook. Within 20 minutes of the pictures being posted to the Phil Campbell High School page, Adams had been connected to the ring.

The recovery of the ring marked years of regret for Adams, he said.

“I was devastated because basically it was a new ring and I lost it,” Adams said. “To say we did not have a lot of money would have been an understatement. So losing something that took months to pay for … It made me sick at my stomach. I was in a panic and did not tell anyone.”

Adams was working in Tennessee at the time outside Nashville on Interstate 40.

“I remember being down the road from Loretta Lynn’s Dude Ranch and cutting some grass and delivering some fireworks to a fireworks stand. When I got ready to leave, I noticed the ring missing. I searched the immediate area, but it was over an acre, and there was no way to locate it,” Adams said.

Following that summer, Adams joined the U.S. Army. His military career – 22.5 years in the Army, 17 active and the rest National Guard – was marked by two tours in the Middle East, the last as recent as 2004-2005. He also spent time in Germany, Panama and Korea and two years stateside – one in Ft. Riley, Kansas, and one in Ft. Bliss, Texas.

“I never thought I would get my ring back,” he said. “I have thought about it every day that I can remember. I don’t know why, but I thought in the back of my mind I had hopes it would turn up again.”

And so it did. Adams he had just sat down to eat one day a couple of weeks ago when “I got about 15 text messages from former classmates,” Adams said. “They were more excited than I was because they had seen a posting of my class ring on the PCHS (Facebook). I wanted to believe what I was reading, but I was not near my iPad to read it for myself. It took a couple of days for me to get into contact with the man that had the ring.”

Johnson said he and Adams exchanged a few emails, and he was impressed by what he learned of Adams – his military career and current involvement with the K9 program at the Sikeston Department of Public Safety.

“He sounds like quite the upstanding citizen,” Johnson said. “He’s not just a run-of-the-mill guy … He’s one of those people – you want to get their stuff back to them. “

Adams returned home from a trip to find the ring waiting for him.

“It fits on my left pinkie finger now,” Adams said. “I am the same height but 100 pounds heavier than high school. I was skinny, to say the least.”

He’s been wearing it ever since.

“I wish I could explain how happy I am to have that ring back,” said Adams. “I have lost both parents and one brother and one sister since that year. I felt like I had let my family down when it was lost. It is nice to see that there are really good people in this world.”

And Johnson has crossed an item off his bucket list by being able to return the high school treasure.

“I would want somebody to do that for me,” Johnson said. “It’s just something that I felt he would want … I’m glad I was able to locate him.”