Wedding ring swapped for beer haunts family

A Nova Scotia woman is trying to track down her grandfathers wedding ring after he bartered it for a beer more than 60 years ago in a Halifax bar.

Natalie Aalders said her grandfather was serving amilitary stint in Halifax during the 1950s.One night the Newfoundland soldier broke and in the throes of a three-day drinking binge decided to barter.

But one of the only thingsof value on him was his wedding ring.

"One pint of beer is what he got for it,"saidAalders.

When her grandfather sobered up he had a story ready to tell his wife.

"He had originally told her that he had lost it down the sink drain while doing kitchen duty,"said Aalders. "He kept it a secret."

The real story surfaced almost six decades later.Aalders recentlygot married and her grandfather told her and her husband the story while looking at her new wedding ring.

She said her grandmother always suspected the sink story was a fib.

"She wasn't surprised. She knew he had had a drinking problem and had to get him out a few jams," Aalders said.

Kijijiappeal

Aalders said she wants to make things right so she placed an ad on Kijijilooking for the person who swapped swill for the white-gold band.

"I imagine the ring is long gone, but figured I would post this on the far off chance that someone would remember him and still have the ring, and possibly discuss how I can get it back for him while he is still around, maybe in time for Christmas,"she wrote.

So far she'd had no luck finding the ring, but thousands of people have read the ad.

Aalders said her grandfather, now 80 and living in Wolfville, gave up drinking a long time ago.

He never replaced the ring, but he's still married.