Photos from Ann Arthur.
By Jordan Wilcox
Assistant Publisher
In mid-April, Midland realtor Ann Arthur and her husband, Kevin Holloman, were working on a waterfront project at their Sanford Lake home when Holloman discovered what he described as a “hunk of gold” on the lakebed about 30 feet from their seawall.
After pulling it from the water, the couple realized that it was a 1965 class ring and became determined to locate its rightful owner.
Through research they learned that the ring belonged to 79-year-old William “Bill” Middleton, a 1965 graduate of Coleman High School who still lives in the area and has family throughout Clare County.
After Arthur and Holloman reached out, the three met in person, and Middleton was ecstatic to be reunited with his long-lost ring. He was also eager to share the story of how he lost it.
The year was 1965. Middleton was 18 years old, freshly out of high school and newly drafted to serve in the Vietnam War.
The day before his departure, he decided to spend time water skiing on Sanford Lake. While admiring and hoping to impress “girls in bikinis” on the public beach, Middleton accidentally veered too close to shore. The tip of his ski became tangled in a patch of seaweed, sending him tumbling into the muck, where his arm became stuck. When he finally broke free, his class ring was gone.
Over the years, the public beach became known as Flanders Beach and was later operated as a county park. It is now owned by private homeowners, such as Arthur and Holloman, who frequently discover lost items on their property.
In a Facebook post, Holloman reflected on the reunion, writing that “the story and the encounter with this wonderful 79-year-old gentleman was by far much greater than the hunk of gold I found, and it reminded me that sometimes the greatest treasures in life are the connections we make with others.”
