Stolen rings re-created for golden anniversary

ASSOCIATED PRESS

VICTORIA, Texas — Bobbie Bullard was 21 when he noticed the cute girl working behind the vegetable stand outside of Nixon, Texas, on Highway 80. For him it was love at first sight, so he bought a bushel of peas from her.

In the following weeks, he came back to buy some more vegetables. And then some more. And then some more.

"I just thought he really liked vegetables," the object of his affection, Velma, said with a laugh. "I didn't realize he was interested in me until he finally asked me out."

They were married Dec. 27, 1959. It was a beautiful ceremony, but it was the wedding ring set Bobbie had picked out for his new wife that held a special place in her heart.

Throughout their 49 years of marriage, when times were tough and money was low, Velma Bullard would look down at her left hand and remember why she married her husband.

"The rings were beautiful. I always took pride in them, that Bobbie thought I was worth it and had picked out these rings for me," she said.

Unfortunately, in 1998 her wedding ring set was stolen out of her car while her back was turned at a car wash.

A limited edition set from Zales, they are no longer made by the company. So the couple scoured pawn shops and put up reward signs for the missing rings. They had no luck.

With their 50th wedding anniversary approaching, Velma Bullard decided in late 2007 to take matters into her own hands and wrote a letter to Zales, asking if it could re-create the original set. She would pay whatever it cost, of course. She just wanted her ring finger to stop feeling so empty.

The letter eventually made it across the desk of the chief executive officer of Zales, said Ralph Gardea, regional director for Zales. The company was so touched by the letter and what the Bullards had gone through that not only did it re-create the rings from scratch, but did so free of charge.

On Oct. 4, the company sent a car to pick up the couple to take them to the Austin Zales store where Bobbie Bullard had bought the original rings. And there the unwitting couple from Belmont, Texas, was surprised to learn that not only were they getting the new rings for free, but the company had invited all their family members to an early anniversary celebration at the store, complete with an exact replica of their wedding cake.

"She had never requested the rings for free, but after all that they had gone through to find the rings, this was something we really wanted to do for them," Gardea said. "On a personal level, the Bullards' relationship reminded me why I'm in this business. We celebrate milestones in people's lives and always will."

Although Gardea wouldn't revealed how much the rings would go for today, back in 1959, they cost between $500 and $600, which the couple paid off in $24 monthly installments. The Bullards were flabbergasted when they arrived at the Zales store, Velma, 65, said.

Out of their four children, 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, almost all were able to make it. And now, when they do celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in December 2009, which will be a small family affair and include a renewal of vows, Velma Bullard can look down at her left hand and remember why she married this man in the first place.