College ring

[Al Vise]

I've just checked the list of 1945 graduated from your link.
Apparently there's nobody, man or woman, who graduated in that year which initials are M.A.P. You said that they leave school to take care to homefront or go to work: was a ring given to them also if they don't finish their studies?
The plot thickens!

Have a Blessed Easter you and your family too!

 

[Foxer55]

Al Vise,

I've just checked the list of 1945 graduated from your link.
Apparently there's nobody, man or woman, who graduated in that year which initials are M.A.P. You said that they leave school to take care to homefront or go to work: was a ring given to them also if they don't finish their studies?
The plot thickens!

Typically students purchase their own rings in their junior or senior year. Or the family will purchase it as a gift for the graduating student.

It may be you haven't gotten the correct school yet.

 

[dlvh]

I just received a letter from woman who graduated from Milne High in 1946. She was not familiar with anyone that had the initials M.A.P. from the class of '45, but gave me the name of someone she thought...in her words "must belong to her" but I have my doubts about that person she mentioned being the one. The only thing that's the same is her last name... starting with a "P"

Here is the woman I wrote to's reply. She writes:

"David, I wish I could help you in your search for the owner. There was only one person in '45 with a last name starting with P and that was Chloe Meredith Pelletier so the ring must belong to her. I didn't know her in high school nor do I know of anyone who was a friend of hers. According to the Alumni Files Chole died in 2010. Her married name was Wacenske Plato, according to the class list. The only thing I can suggest is to contact the Alumni Office or send the ring to them at: U.Albany Alumni
1400 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY
12222
Phone: 1 800 577-7869. This number is for the Alumni Fund but I'm sure they could redirect you to the Alumni Office, sorry but this is the only # I have. They may have an address for her or family or the Alumni office may want it for their archives for Milne.

Mrs. Ann Carter"

As much as I loved reading her letter, I'm still not sold on this person being the one, but I could very well be wrong, and I hope that I am. I did reply back to her, asking if this was indeed a girls/womens ring, but haven't receive a reply back as of yet. I'm hoping that those phone numbers, and other contact information can be of some help, and I will call them Alvise, if you want me to, seeings you are over in Italy...just let me know!

I'm pretty certain we have the correct school. Just the Crest on the Ring matching the Yearbook Cover, prove that to me, beyond a doubt!

I, and others here...I cannot speak for others, would love to hear the story of how your wife came to find this and purchase the ring...That in itself, could be of extreme interest.

The reasons why she left school, could very greatly..if indeed that is the case. WWII changed everyone...American men enlisted in the armed forces in droves right after the attack on Pearl Harbor...my Father being one. If she had a brother who did just that, it wouldn't be a stretch at all, that she stayed home to help out at the homefront, and if she ordered her class ring in 1940 or '41, before the breakout of the war, she may have never went back to school after the wars end. Or, she possibly could have died...who knows. She could have transferred to another school maybe, somewhere closer to where her Dad got transferred to...again, who knows? There are tons of scenarios to which we could speculate.

I will let you know what Mrs. Carter says when I hear from here.

The plot does indeed thicken...

Blessed Easter to you all!

dlvh

 

[Tomasso]

op2:

 

[dlvh]

op2:

LOL...Put your feet up and watch the story develop...hopefully.

Oh..also...a belated Happy Birthday to you Alvise!

dlvh

 

[Al Vise]

Dear David,
first of all, thank you for your diligence in this adventure! :eusa_clap Glad to solve this mystery with you! It's gonna be great!
Then, but not least, thank you so much for the birthday wishes! I didn't expect 'em!

My girlfriend (still not my wife ) bought the ring on etsy.com, so I asked her to give me the contact of the seller: I'm gonna ask him how he got it.

But that's not all! There may be new developments in the case! The other day I was gazing my ring and I noticed that the letter M.A.P. are punched upside down than the insignia, on the front side, and the jewelers name, on the same inner side. I wondered why and I tried to rotate it. Surprise! The M and the A actually look like a V and a W! So maybe, instead of lookin' for a person which first name begins with an M and the second one with an A, we should look for a person wich second name begins with a V and the last one begins with a W!! I'm gonna post a picture (both "right" way and upside down way) of it soon!

The plot thickens!

 

[dlvh]

Yes Alvise,

If you post pictures of the inside (including the makers mark) that would indeed help.

Did I write wife...:eusa_doh: ...oops, I meant girlfriend.

Good place, Etsy...If she can still get the story from the person she bought it from on Etsy, that still might help.

Looking forward to the pictures.

dlvh

 

[Al Vise]

As promised, here are the pictures of the inner side.

[/IMG]

On the arch there's the name of the jewelers, but I can't read it. Beneath there's written "10 karat"

Here are the initials. On the left, as told by the seller, they are M.A.P. Now that I look better, the P doesn't seem a P. But as I told before, there were no people graduated in 1945 which first and second name initials were M.A.
On the right, is the same picture upside down. The P is no loger a P (but I can't understand what it coul be!) and the M.A. look like V.W.

 

[dlvh]

Alvise,

It is very hard to see that second set of pictures. Can you take a better quality picture (like the top one) and at a more side angle, if possible, and a lot bigger so we can zoom in would also help. I do believe the writing should NOT be read upside down! I can only read the first letter...which I do believe is a "M", but the other two letters are un-readable do to the quality and angle of the picture with ANY certainty. Sorry to say! And the cursive writing doesn't help either.

Looking forward to some better pictures soon.

(edit) Also, if you can take a slightly different angle on the maker of the ring, we might be able to read that also...To me it looks like "?.ECES&CLLST"? anyone else?

dlvh

 

[Al Vise]

Dear David,
I'm sorry for the bad quality of the pictures. The 2nd set was take with my girlfriend (don't worry if you said wife. Hope she's gonna be my wife, sooner or later. But that's another story ) mobile phone with macro function. I'll try to take someone else.
For what concerne the picture of the punch of the jewelers, it is as you see it on the ring. It's a little bit worn out (almost 70 years old!), so it's hard to read.

My "upside down theory" came from the fact that the initials are reversed than the insignia on the front and the punch of the jewelers. Why is it? A simple mistake from the jeweler or maybe they've to be read as "?.V.W."?

 

[HudsonHawk]

(edit) Also, if you can take a slightly different angle on the maker of the ring, we might be able to read that also...To me it looks like "?.ECES&CLLST"? anyone else?

dlvh

The makers mark is a bit worn, but the maker is Dieges & Clust. They were a popular jeweler and medal manufacturer in New York throughout the 20th Century. They made everything from the Medal of Honor to class rings. They are famous for many sports trophies including Olympic medals and the Heisman Trophy. Some of their World Series rings are extremely valuable.

 

[dlvh]

The makers mark is a bit worn, but the maker is Dieges & Clust. They were a popular jeweler and medal manufacturer in New York throughout the 20th Century. They made everything from the Medal of Honor to class rings. They are famous for many sports trophies including Olympic medals and the Heisman Trophy. Some of their World Series rings are extremely valuable.

Thanks HudsonHawk, So glad that someone could read or recognize that wording/logo. Looks like it was a very prestigious company until they sold out to Herff Jones in 1980. A lot of their items do indeed bring big money.

dlvh

 

[Al Vise]

The makers mark is a bit worn, but the maker is Dieges & Clust. They were a popular jeweler and medal manufacturer in New York throughout the 20th Century. They made everything from the Medal of Honor to class rings. They are famous for many sports trophies including Olympic medals and the Heisman Trophy. Some of their World Series rings are extremely valuable.

I'm just having a look on internet to some of their masterpieces.

Thanks Mr. HudsonHawk! Your help was precious :eusa_clap

 

[HudsonHawk]

I'm just having a look on internet to some of their masterpieces.

Thanks Mr. HudsonHawk! Your help was precious :eusa_clap

Glad I was able to help. It doesn't identify the original owner, but it's one question answered.

You know, you see old class rings all the time in pawn shops and online, and most people don't think about them too much. But every one has a story, and I think it's pretty cool that you're determined to learn this ring's. I hope you're successful.

 

[Al Vise]

I think one of the reasons that prompted me to love vintage things and vintage word was the curiosity of the stories behind each object, dress, hat, car, piece of furniture...
Everithing from the past is just a little time machine! Simply fascinating!

 

[Tomasso]

I think one of the reasons that prompted me to love vintage things and vintage word was the curiosity of the stories behind each object, dress, hat, car, piece of furniture...
Everithing from the past is just a little time machine! Simply fascinating!

Yep, everything has a provenance. Sadly, in most cases it gets lost along the way.

 

[JudyBKM]

Hello to all...and especially to Sean Raleigh, who was savvy enough to determine that I (as Volunteer Milne School Alumni Coordinator) am probably the person who knows the most about alumni of The Milne School in Albany, NY. Because Milne closed in 1977, there is no alumni office. The UAlbany Alumni Association office would forward to me any correspondence that they might receive. (They know me because I graduated from both Milne and UAlbany!)

Yes, it definitely appears that this ring belonged to an alumna or alumnus of The Milne School. I have my mother's ring in front of me (Milne Class of 1938), and although the style changed, the insignia is the same. Her initials can be viewed correctly when the ring is "right side up" if that helps you determine the initials in the 1945 ring. Unfortunately, my ring (Class of 1961) disappeared some time ago. :-(

As for a list of Milne alumni...that's available at http://www.albany.edu/~milne/MilneClassList.shtml. Unfortunately, I don't see any names in the Class of 1945 listing with the initials MAP. If I remember correctly, we ordered our rings in our junior year, so it's always possible that MAP ordered his or her ring and then failed to graduate from Milne and moved on to another high school. Although some of our classes have included non-grads in their listing, I don't think many classes from the '40s did that. Also, if, in fact, turning the ring over produces readable initials, that's another story.

In the Class of '46 (if MAP happened to have graduated late), there's a Margaret Ann GALLIVAN O'Brien (Deceased) and a Margaret Anne QUINN Ferraioli (Deceased, 2012), but unless the "P" is actually a "G" or "Q," neither is the graduate we're looking for.

And, yes, WWII definitely resulted in numerous students either not graduating at all or graduating late.

If the ring is turned upside down, with the last-name initial being W, there are several possibilities depending on what the first-name initial is.

Ms. Lorraine WEBBER Clarke, 1945
Ms. Zelda WEINBERG Kushner, 1945 (Deceased)
Ms. Ruth WELSH, 1945
Ms. Janet WILEY Benson, 1945
Mr. Walter K. WILKINS, Jr., 1945

The surnames in all caps would be their Milne (maiden) name.

Congratulations on your research! I just wish I had a more conclusive answer for you.

Judy Madnick
Albany, NY

 

[Atticus Finch]

I have followed this thread with interest. Seems like the weight of the evidence points to a young woman with the initials "MAP" buying a class ring as a lower classman and then somehow failing to become included in the Milne alumni records. Either "MAP" didn't graduate from Milne or there was an error in the alumni recordkeeping. Given the then existing war-time climate, I would tend to favor the former.

Is there a way to determine if a person with the initials "MAP" was enrolled as a lower classman at Milne in 1943 or 1944? If such records no longer exist, perhaps one could start by asking a 1945 or a 1946 graduate if he or she remembers such a person from their sophomore or junior year.

AF

 

[Al Vise]

[...] Her initials can be viewed correctly when the ring is "right side up" [...]
Judy Madnick
Albany, NY

Dear Judy,
first of all welcome on this thread! I'm so glad that so many people are involved in this case.

What do you mean with your sentence above? Because, talking about my ring, if the insignia is on the right/correct side, actually the initials are B.V.W. !!! (I'm pretty sure the first letter is a B if upside down) This changes everything! :eusa_doh:

So... the plot thickens!

 

[Atticus Finch]

I just looked at my (admittedly modern) ring. The inscription on the inside of the ring and the maker's mark on the inside of the ring are oriented in one direction while the engraving on the outside of the ring and the ring's crest are oriented in the opposite direction. If the same rule applies to your ring then the former owner’s initials are "?.V.W."

But I still think "M.A.P." is correct.

AF