JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) — Gerry Reynolds figured his football letterman’s pendant earned playing football at Louisiana State University in 1947 and 1948 had been lost forever.
It came as quite a surprise when Bob Crawley gave it back to him 54 years after he last saw it.
Reynolds, who lives in Memphis, told The Jackson Sun he lost the L-shaped pendant in the woods of Decatur County in 1957 while giving a speech at a tree farm dedication.
Reynolds gave it to his then-girlfriend, Miner Fugler, whom he met in high school in Baton Rouge and began dating at LSU. She wore the pendant on a necklace, even after they married in 1960.
Reynolds, 84, borrowed the pendant to wear at the speech, but didn’t realize it had been lost until he was on his way home.
“I lost it in those woods, no doubt about it,” he said. “I figured it was a lost cause to try and find it because of the wooded area I was in. I tried to replace it, but got nowhere with