My dad had spent his high school senior year in 1945-46 studying at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville – a 4+ hour car ride away from Batesville. This unique World War II-era program offered high school seniors the opportunity to spend a year as freshmen getting a jumpstart on college. So even though Bob and Helen lived in a small town and no doubt knew of each other, it took Dad being away for a couple of semesters for Mom to see him with new eyes!

The Two Rings

When I began photographing keepsakes, I knew that I had to capture the love my parents had for each other with a photograph of the two rings that they wore for 40+ years. The diamond solitaire is my Mom’s wedding ring. The other ring with the garnet colored stone is my Dad’s class ring from the College of the Ozarks.

As their love story continues from that class picnic where sparks flew, Bob didn’t return to the University of Arkansas for his sophomore year that September. In fact, he joined Helen who was beginning her studies at Arkansas College (now Lyon College) in their hometown of Batesville. Later Bob would transfer to the College of the Ozarks to begin pharmacy school.

I have always been amazed that my parents waited until both of them finished college before getting married, especially since this was just after World War II and so much of life must have felt fragile. But still, they waited. As Mom loved to tell us, Dad surprised her with the diamond solitaire engagement ring on her birthday in February 1950. They would graduate from college in May and then marry in June of that year.

The College Class Ring

My dad wore a traditional gold wedding band on his left hand, but it is his College of the Ozarks class ring worn on his right hand that stands out in my memory. Education is a very important part of our family’s history and Dad had every right to be proud to have earned his degree in pharmacy. 

Working and thriving as a pharmacist as well as a small business owner shaped my Dad’s legacy. He loved helping people and providing the type of care in his pharmacy that is hard to find today. I loved that his customers called him “Dr. Bob” even though he wasn’t a physician. They knew he would answer their medical questions if he could or would find the answers for them if he couldn’t. 

In a sweet finale to his long pharmacy career, Bob and many others from the School of Pharmacy Class of 1950 would be awarded their doctorate degrees late in their careers. They had accumulated 40+ years of faithfully attending the state-required continuing education classes. He could finally legitimately be called “Dr. Bob!”

Why Create A Legacy Photo?

I imagine that you have some keepsakes with amazing stories connected to them just like my sister and I do with our parents’ rings. I hope you will start thinking about how a large photograph of a piece of your family’s legacy could bring a unique focal point to your home.

Create a keepsake photograph is perfect for memorabilia, heirlooms, and mementos that are unlikely to be displayed because they are

• Too small
• Too large
• Fragile or deteriorating
• Difficult to showcase because of their shape or structure

Keepsake photographs are also perfect for those precious parts of our family stories that you would like to share with other family members. For example, when my mom passed away in 2020, my sister and I decided that she would keep Dad’s class ring and I would take Mom’s wedding ring. Now we can both reminisce as we look at a large-scale photo of both rings.