Herman's Hermits were on the radio, Lyndon B. Johnson was in The White House and Audrey Musgrove was on her hands and knees looking for an engagement ring she would never find in the kitchen of her brand new home in Sully, Iowa.
The year was 1965, and the young mom had taken off her bridal jewelry prior to mixing up a batch of cookies with her son. She had placed the rings against the backsplash, but when she returned later to retrieve the rings, the engagement ring was gone.
If the ring had fallen from the backsplash, it had to be in the kitchen — somewhere — but despite hours of searching, Audrey and husband, Don, came up empty.
“We hunted everywhere, but didn't find it,” Audrey told hometownpressia.com. “We had no way to know for sure, and removing cabinets at the time didn't seem logical.”
She accepted the harsh reality that the engagement ring was likely gone forever.
She did joke, though, that 100 years from now somebody would be tearing down the house and maybe they'd find the ring.
More than 50 years passed and the Musgroves, in 2016, moved into a new Sully home more suited to their senior lifestyle. She has worn the wedding band every day for 59 years, but never replaced the engagement ring.
Earlier this year, the new owners of the Musgrove home, George and Kimberley Mould, embarked on a total kitchen renovation. When they removed the island cabinet, a pristine engagement ring winked up at them. The startled homeowners contacted their real estate agent, who, in turn, tracked down the Musgroves. Audrey provided a detailed description of the missing ring, and the real estate agent confirmed it was hers.
“I had asked about picking the ring up, and since [the Moulds] were at the house working, they said to 'Come on over,’" Audrey Musgrove told hometownpressia.com. "We both went to the house to get it. We were so excited, and I think they were also excited as Kimberley gave me a big hug when she handed me the ring. It was in perfect condition!”
Audrey Musgrove is still having trouble wrapping her head around the fact that her engagement ring is back on her finger.
“I still can't believe it and have to look at it every once in a while to believe it is really there,” she said.
Credits: Screen captures via kcci.com.
