1950 EOHS Class Ring Found

From: SUE KAAS Apr 7, 2018 at 10:56 PM
To [email protected]

Hi. I got your email address off the East Orange Timeline, and I'm hoping you might be able to help, or to direct me to someone that might be able to.

I'm Sue Kaas, and I live near Seattle. I metal detect as a hobby, and recently found a 1950 woman's class ring (picture above) at a former military base out here. I'd like to return the ring to the owner or the owner's children, if I can find them. The ring was buried, and appears to have a little damage to the face. I can't tell for sure if the center of the ring is an O and an E (I think it's most likely) or and O and an F. So this is really a needle in a haystack kind of search, but I think it's worth a try.

The ring was made by Dieges & Clust, which was located in New York. I wondered if you recognize this ring design as one used by East Orange High School in 1950? I believe the initials on the inside of the ring are L.E.M. Is there any way to know if there was a graduate of East Orange High with those initials in 1950?

I'd appreciate any help you're able to provide. Thank you for your time!

04/08/18

Response from Jim Gerrish: I sent Sue a pdf file of the 1950 Syllabus Yearbook and she now thinks the engraved initials could be Z.E.M - because they are written in fancy script lettering. That led her to page Thirty-three in the 1950 Yearbook to consider:

Zannie E. Moore Bus. Ed. Business School Zannie likes to do just a little bit of everything, especially watching the Dodgers —Hates people who borrow money — Seen raising the dickens in study hall. Spanish Club 1; Baseball 1 (V. L.D.) ; C.P. (V.L.D.).

I also found where the design for the E O ring might have come from in the 1924 Yearbook that was recently found in a fleamarket and sent to us for scanning. The artist is Charles Porter (class of 1924) and there are more examples of his art work in the yearbook.

04/17/18 - Sue Kaas has been working diligently to discover more about Zannie.

Sue located a 1940 Census showing that Zannie and her family came to East Orange from Georgia:

She found that in 1953, Zannie was married to Calvin S. Thomas at the Naval Receiving Chapel in Seattle, Washington (near where the ring was found).

The last information Sue found was about Calvin S. Thomas :

If you know anything more about the ring, or about Zannie E. Moore or her family, please contact me, Jim Gerrish, at [email protected] and I will pass along your information to Sue Kaas so the ring can be returned to its true owner or her family.