Morgan Perigo of McMaster University's Class of 1965 never expected to see his graduation ring again after losing it in the surf along the coast of Barbados in 1977. But thanks to the good nature of a Barbados professional free diver named Alex Davis and the helpful alumni staff at the university, Perigo got to wear the ring again on his 83rd birthday.
John Travolta was starring in Saturday Night Fever and a gallon of gas cost 66 cents when Perigo, his wife and their two young sons traveled from their home in Canada to enjoy a vacation on the sandy beaches of Barbados.
Perigo remembered the exact moment his ring went missing in the shallow waters off the coast of Barbados' Miami Beach near the town of Oistins.
“One day I took my younger son and waded into the ocean," he told McMaster University Daily News in an email. "He was knocked over by a wave, so I reached to grab hold of him. He pulled on my hand and my Mac alumni ring came off.”
Perigo and his family searched for the ring, but were unsuccessful.
Flash forward to mid-October 2024 at the same beach, where we find Davis trying out a new metal detector in the recently churned-up shallows. Hurricane Beryl, a category 4 storm, caused heavy damage when it struck the island in July of this year, but it also shifted the sands, which was a boon to metal-detector enthusiasts.
Davis was snorkeling with his metal detector when the unit sounded an alert. Davis told CBC Hamilton that he dug down at least 15 centimeters, but all he found were rocks. The metal detector kept buzzing, so the diver kept digging. At 30 centimeters deep, he noticed a flash of gold.
"It catches your eye like nothing else," he told the outlet. "Your heart starts to race."
What he pulled from the sand was a nicely preserved McMaster University class ring mounted with a deep red stone.
Davis set out to find the rightful owner by emailing a photo and explanation to the university.
“I found a McMaster University signet ring with three initials on the inside,” he wrote to McMaster University's Alumni Department. “I found it metal detecting in Barbados this morning and suspect it’s been lost for some time.”
His email reached alumni officer Laura Escalante, who set out to solve the mystery with only two clues, both engraved on the slightly tarnished ring: the year 1965 and the initials FMP. Her quest eventually led her to mathematics major Frederick Morgan Perigo.
Reached by email, Perigo confirmed the ring was his.
“This is unbelievable news,” he wrote back.
Escalante then got to work connecting Perigo and Davis and helping coordinate the return of the ring. She called the successful reunion one of the happiest moments of her career and said the story has touched the hearts of McMaster alumni staff.
"The stars aligned and the water was clear," Davis told CBC Hamilton. "Mr. Perigo's ring was a hell of a find."
The long-lost ring arrived at Perigo's home in Burlington, ON, the day before his 83rd birthday.
“What a wonderful unexpected 83rd birthday present,” he told McMaster University Daily News.
Credits: Images courtesy of Alex Davis and Morgan Perigo via McMaster University Daily News.