Sandiford Luce's return of a lost bracelet inspires gratitude in Vineyard visitors

By Janet Hefler - December 1, 2005

When Candy Klingenberg realized she lost her favorite bracelet on a weekend visit to the Island this fall, the Kansas resident figured she would probably never see it again.

Thanks to the honesty of Sandiford Luce of Edgartown, who found and returned it, a grateful Ms. Klingenberg is impressed with Martha's Vineyard for its people as much as its scenery.

The discovery of the missing bracelet put a damper on a special 30th anniversary celebration for Ms. Klingenberg and her husband Ed the weekend of September 30. Traveling from Elbing, Kansas, a small Mennonite town with a population of 200, they were excited about seeing the Vineyard for the first time.

The couple spent all day Saturday sightseeing, and when they realized the bracelet was gone, they retraced their steps but had no luck in finding it.

Designed by New York designer David Yurman, the equestrian-style bracelet featured looped silver/gold heavy links, with a horseshoe-clasp. Given to Ms. Klingenberg by her husband on their 25th anniversary, it was more than a valuable piece of jewelry in terms of sentiment.

Thinking about it back in their room at the Kelley House, she decided to advertise the lost bracelet in The Times. Her husband was skeptical about the odds of it being found, let alone returned. "For a person from Kansas to be putting an ad in a Martha's Vineyard paper, he said he doubted we would get a reply or see the bracelet again," she recalled.

After leaving the Island, the couple spent a few days in New York where Mr. Klingenberg bought his wife a new bracelet. Although she could have ordered a duplicate of the lost one, she picked another with a different clasp to avoid the same mishap.

In the meantime, walking across the street from the Harbor View Hotel, where he works, Mr. Luce noticed the bracelet on the ground. "He found it where my husband and I had been sitting on the bench, looking out at the harbor, talking about the 30 years we've been married," said Ms. Klingenberg.

After a busy tourist weekend, Mr. Luce had no idea where to start looking for the bracelet's owner, so he took it home and checked the newspapers each day, hoping to see an advertisement about it.

Ms. Klingenberg's ad appeared in The Times on October 6, and Mr. Luce called a few days later to ask her to describe the bracelet. He paid $13 to ship it by Federal Express, never asking for reimbursement, and she received it five days later.

"I talked to both Mr. Luce and his wife Debbie and offered them a reward, and they refused it," Ms. Klingenberg said. She contacted The Times with her story, wanting to give the Luces some deserved recognition for their help and honesty.

"Now I want to come back to the Vineyard again, knowing there are such wonderful people like them that live there, who would literally look in the paper and keep looking to see if they could find out who something belonged to," Ms. Klingenberg said.