Fifty-two years ago, Stan Nattestad hid his sisters’ Christmas gifts in the attic. And this past summer, he finally managed to find them again.
Nattestad’s parents were separated, and every year at Christmas, his mother would give him presents for his sisters and ask him to hide them until Christmas morning.
The presents that year were two rings, but when he went to find them, they weren’t there.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Nattestad.
“They were only there two or three weeks maybe, and how can they disappear? I never told anybody, so how could anyone have taken them? I was suspicious. I was from day one until I found them.”
Every so often, over 52 years, he would go into the attic and search for the rings. But he always came up empty.
“I never told anyone,” said Nattestad. “Never told anybody. And I go up there several times a year and look for those things.”
He finally found them under a pile of lumber, about five feet from where he always thought they were. It was a relief when they were finally found, to say the least.
“I couldn’t get it out of the back of my mind how close they were from where I was looking at the time. I still can’t believe it,” said Nattestad.
The two rings have a gold band and a black Alaska diamond, and have been appraised at $500 by Ware’s Jewelers here in Stettler. He gave one of the rings to his sister, and is holding on to the other one until he sees his other sister, who lives in Las Vegas.
“They must have wondered how come my mother never gave them Christmas presents,” he said. “They must have, in the back of their minds.”
And now they know.
But that hasn’t been the only find for Nattestad. He recently bought two 1954 calendars for $30 each at an auction, that originally came from a service station in Hackett, Alta., that his father used to own.
“I don’t remember seeing the calendars ever. That was a long time ago, 60 years ago,” said Nattestad.
He got them both framed and has given one to his son. He wants to give the other one to his daughter.
It’s safe to say that this year’s Christmas was a significant one for Nattestad.