• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Bex Hall

  • Blog
  • The Memoir
  • Newsletter
  • About
  • Contact me
Bex Hall > Memoir in Objects > The class ring

The class ring

March 1, 2022

St. Albans High School 1982 Class Ring.

One of my favorite friends in high school wrapped yarn on the underside of her boyfriend’s class ring so it would fit her finger. Another threaded a chain through and wore it around her neck. 

In 1980, wearing class rings was still popular in high school, whether it was your own, or someone else’s, in some symbolic rehearsal for married life.

I brought home the order form to Grandmother and gushed about my choice. I would not get my birthstone, like everyone else. Instead, I longed for October’s Rose zircon set in a delicate gold band. In Grandmother’s jewelry box were many rings with these types of stones. We shared a fondness for pink and amethyst colors.

Grandmother was hesitant, and I went to bed that night hoping for a yes in the morning.

On my way out the door for school the next day, I found an envelope with cash and the completed order form that also included a check mark beside the upgrade for engraved initials. I skipped to the bus stop and didn’t care who saw me.


The ring has been off and on my fingers for 42 years and it mostly resides in my jewelry box. The 19 and the 82 are worn down and the school name is barely recognizable. If you look closely, you can still see BLN engraved inside and if you look at it in profile, the ghost of a perfect circle.

The initials still show.
Ghost of a perfect circle.

Years later, I learned how Grandmother afforded the purchase—she had used her “pin money.”

I don’t remember if I ever properly thanked her.


This is the 11th story in the Objects as Waypoints Writing Project series.


The story that explains pin money: The Daisy (key) Chain

Filed Under: Memoir in Objects Tagged With: the 100 day project 2022, the objects

Primary Sidebar

About Bex

 

Bex Hall

Her writing has appeared in various online and print publications, most recently in Kerning, a literary magazine, and in the Stories of Hope Collection in Transplant Living. Her artwork has appeared and sold through the Grayson Gallery. She blogs here about creative life and creates in Studio BE overlooking the Ohio River. Her work in progress is a memoir about the secret life of objects.

Notes

  • The 100 Day Project

    50 short stories in 100 days.

Subscribe to my newsletter

Secondary Sidebar

Notes

  • Creative practice goals:

    Show up every day behind the pen, the brush, or the lens and share my work.

Footer

Recent Posts

  • Gratitude, grief, and getting through
  • I’d like to ask a favor
  • No selvedge on my fabric heart
  • Answers lead to more questions
  • You can’t always get what you want

Inspiration & Craft

Quotes on Creativity

Recommended Books

Art & Writing Supplies

Galleries

Photo Gallery

Connect on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Medium
  • Pinterest

Copyright © 2023 · Bex Hall

  • Blog
  • The Memoir
  • Newsletter
  • About
  • Contact me