8/24/13- As a Howell couple approaches their 40th anniversary, theyâre hoping to find the people that helped make their love story possible. Mike Lapradd was 21 and Patty had just turned 18. They didnât have a lot of money but were rich in love when Mike noticed an ad for an engagement ring and band being sold for $100 in Farmington. The manâs wife was sick and he wished them the best when he sold them the rings, telling Lapradd that he hoped they would be just as good as to him over the next 20 years. Lapradd says he laughed at first but as the years pass, theyâre still together and they think about the couple. With their 40th anniversary coming up in March, they felt it was worth taking the time and would to make it an adventure, knowing that if itâs meant to be, theyâll find the rightful owners. Theyâre proud of their love story and say whether it was the luck of the rings or whatever, it just worked and they feel itâs important to try. Although they bought the rings, the couple says it doesnât matter and theyâve always felt the rightful owners are the original owners and are hoping perhaps someone else could get as much enjoyment as theyâve had out of them. An engraving shows the initials for the previous owners are "AK" and "RG. The Lapraddâs both lived in Livonia at the time and remember the couple lived in a rural Farmington area in a home that had some acreage with horses. Mike says he remembers going up Middlebelt or Merriman heading north but canât narrow it down to any cross streets or a general area. They were able to look up the old newspaper ad at a library that had a phone number but itâs changed over the years and theyâve been unable to track down any other information. The couple is asking anyone who might have known the couple, their children or relatives to contact Mike's cell phone at 313-300-8201. (JM)
↧