The Bedminster man got the timepiece as a gift after organizing a memorial for a high school classmate killed on 9/11
A watch given to a New Jersey man years ago after he organized a memorial for a classmate killed on 9/11 was returned to him nine months after he lost in while on vacation in Maine.
A New Jersey man who lost a sentimental watch in Maine last summer got a pleasant surprise when it was returned to him. A local found the watch in the spring. The story was first reported by BangorDailyNews.com.
Bedminster resident Michael Tropea was visiting his in-laws in Maine last summer with his wife and children when the timepiece was accidentally left on the bumper of a car.
When the family returned from a walk, the Shinola watch had vanished. They embarked on an exhaustive search around the area, but couldn't find it.
Sometime this spring, a man who lives in the same town as Tropea's in-laws -- Bremen -- found a watch near his roadside mailbox.
The Good Samaritan -- Scott Giguere -- noticed the watch had an identification number on the back. Giguere was able to track down its owner through Shinola because Tropea once sent the watch back to have its battery replaced.
Shinola told the website he received the gift because of his work to set up a memorial for Maj. Clifford L. Patterson Jr., a former high school classmate in Washington, D.C. who died at the Pentagon during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The watch was still running fine even though it was apparently left in the elements for nine months.
Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.