Century-old ring discovery prompts search for owners
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/01/2022 (1516 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A nearly century-old ring with ties to the former Brandon General Hospital was recently found in a Stony Mountain home.
The discovery is proving to be an intriguing mystery the finder is eager to solve, and she is hoping to return the ring to its rightful owners.
The ring — dating back to 1928 — is gold, between size five and a half to six, and is inscribed with what appears to be a Gothic-style “W” or “M,” bordered with “Brandon General Hospital.”
Holly Beasse McGillvray, who lives in Winnipeg, said she found the ring in the floorboards of an old house her father lived in until he died.
“We were renovating, and I was pulling the floorboards out and found this stuck between two pieces of wood,” she told the Sun. “It’s not a real-exciting ring or an expensive one, I just want to get it home. This object tells a story, and I’m sure it has some sentimental value to someone.”
McGillvray’s father bought the house after her mother died and he sold the family’s original home. The home he bought in Stony Mountain is believed to be one of the earliest houses in the town, dating back to the early 1900s.
Even though it is going on nearly 100 years, McGillvray is sure there is someone out there who may recognize the ring as belonging to a family member or someone they knew. Her mother was a nurse, she added, so she understands the personal value the ring may have.
It appears to be a type of class ring. At the time, Brandon General Hospital housed a nursing school.
The letter in the middle may be an initial of someone, she said. The relatively small size also points toward it being a woman’s ring, therefore likely a graduate of the nursing school.
McGillvray has a few other theories.
Stony Mountain has been home to a federal prison for decades and it may have belonged to an employee.
The house had a connection to her as well, as it belonged to the grandparents of a longtime friend, Neal Walstrom. He said he could not say for sure if it belonged to anyone in his family but is intrigued by the find as well. His grandparents lived in the house from the early 1900s.
There are very few records from the original Brandon General Hospital online, McGillvray said, so she hopes someone out there has information on the ring.
“I thought a call to the media would be the best way to bring attention to this.”
» kmckinley@brandonsun.com