It's been 20 years, but after some digging, Mark Reid will get to use his dad's long lost wedding band in his own wedding next month.
The ring was lost years ago below an overgrown garden – and now horse pasture – on the property that once was owned by Reid's parents.
He said he remembers his dad, who was a construction worker, often didn't wear his band and instead kept it with his wife. One day, while she was gardening on their acreage property south of Cochrane 20 years ago, the ring slipped off and got lost in the dirt.
Now as a tribute to his family and for extra sentiment in his wedding band, Reid thought he would surprise his parents and soon-to-be wife by finding it.
"I think they were, you know, definitely impressed and thought it was really cool that I made the effort to do that," Reid said.
Reid hired Bill Jones, who works for The Ring Finders company.
"Knowing that in January in Alberta the ground is frozen and like cement up to a metre down, I advised Mark that I would gladly come out to search for the ring but with one caveat, he would have to be willing to dig in the frozen ground. He agreed and we met at the acreage that was his childhood home," Jones said.
After getting permission from the current owners, they set off to work, Jones using a metal detector, placing rocks in spots that set off his machine while Reid dug. The property had changed significantly, with the garden converted to a horse paddock and the fences had moved.
The dig unearthed a whole trove of items from the past.
"We found everything from pop can tabs to farriers' horse shoe nails...tin foil, copper wire," Reid said.
"We kept digging and digging and finally we scooped in this hole in the ground that we were making. And I saw the band right there. Like, no way, we actually found it."
However, Reid said while cleaning off the the dirt, the ring shattered.
"So I only have just a bunch of pieces of the ring," he said.
Reid plans on having them fused into a new wedding band, depending on the cost.
