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Metal detective gives him a ringBy JOY DAVIS-PLATT © St. Petersburg Times, published February 20, 2001 BUSHNELL -- Steven Green stared at the cornflower blue stone of his 1988 class ring as if it were a relic from a lifetime ago.
Now, it's his once more, thanks to Patsy Loveless. Mrs. Loveless, in the Sumter County park with her hand-held metal detector, recently came upon the spot near a goal post where something glinted from beneath the sand. "I had found a couple of coins and the usual trash that day," said Mrs. Loveless, 60, who lives in Maryland but spends her winters roving Florida in a recreational vehicle. "Then I saw a little tiny something that looked gold, but lots of times that can just be gold foil." At first, Mrs. Loveless thought the school ring might belong to someone in the Citrus County town of Hernando, but a little research led her to Hernando High in Brooksville. "I found the ring on (Feb.) 13th and was able to return it on the 15th," she said with a sly smile. "I would have returned it on the 14th, but I was out detecting again." Mrs. Loveless returned the ring to Green's mother, Gloria, who arranged a surprise meeting between the pair Sunday. Gloria Green lured her son from his Brooksville home to a Chinese restaurant near the Kenny Dixon Sports Complex in Sumter County under the pretense of celebrating his 31st birthday, which was Feb. 5. "It's still in pretty good shape for being under three inches of dirt," Gloria Green said of the ring she bought for $285. "It just shows that you never know." Her son looked at the ring, which shows the track team logo with a leopard on one side and his name on the other. "I had a feeling this was going to be found," he said. "Isn't that bizarre?" Green remembered putting the ring in the pocket of his shorts so he wouldn't lose it. He had just had the stone replaced after chipping the original amethyst birthstone. "I was heartbroken," he said. "We looked all over the place for that thing. This is like a belated birthday present." Mrs. Loveless said she was delighted with Green's reaction. His is the sixth class ring she has found and returned. "This is my favorite," she said Sunday after returning Green's ring. "When you are able to make someone happy, that's just what it's all about." The reaction will only fuel her ongoing love for metal detecting, Loveless said. "I detect anywhere they'll let me," she said. "I love it dearly. I love it more than food." Mrs. Loveless' husband of 43 years, Billy, got her started with a metal detector nine years ago. "I created two monsters," he said. "I got her started, and she hooked her sister. Sometimes they leave at daybreak and come home when it's too dark to see." But Mrs. Loveless is only sorry she didn't start detecting sooner. "I wish I had started 10 or 20 years ago," she said. "If I had only known how much joy it would give me . . . " Loveless remembers helping his wife contact the owner of the first class ring she found. "That girl was some kind of happy," said Loveless, who contacted the owner 14 years after she lost her treasured piece of jewelry. "She said, "This happens to other people, not me.' " A member of the Southern Maryland Artifact Recovery Team, Mrs. Loveless said it isn't just valuable jewelry that makes her smile. She also feels satisfaction when she finds nails and screws at a beach or playground. "You feel like you've saved somebody from getting hurt," she said. Though the ring no longer fits, Green said he is thankful to have it back. He will likely have it resized and will wear it. "This seems like something from another lifetime," he said.
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From today's Hernando Times |
