The old saying, “If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it’s yours.” doesn’t typically apply to clothing, but for one middle Tennessee family, that’s exactly what happened. 

Just before Christmas, Anderson Williams and his “tween”-age daughters, Charlie and Zoe, were shopping at Garage Sale Vintage in East Nashville. Charlie’s newfound love for all things vintage had the group on the hunt for an “old school” satin jacket. 

But what they found meant so much more than just a random vintage gem. 

While Anderson was flipping through the racks, he spotted the glimmer of a shiny blue satin jacket. When he pulled it out to inspect, he saw it was a Goodpasture School Band jacket, very obviously from the 1980s. The original owner’s name, Jennifer, was proudly stitched on the outside with her phone number written on the label inside. 

Anderson couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He quickly called his sister, Annie, to confirm his suspicion that the jacket originally belonged to their cousin, Jennifer Cates. When Annie easily rattled off Jennifer’s childhood phone number and it matched the label, they started hatching a fun little plan.

Even though Anderson and his daughters were going to be out of town for Christmas, they left a very special package for Jennifer to open at their family gathering. 

“We were on FaceTime and the girls were going bananas,” Jennifer laughs. “They were SO excited.”

Jennifer had no idea she was about to be opening a lost treasure that stirred in her equal parts nostalgia and pride.

“I can’t believe my old jacket is vintage,” says Jennifer, a 1987 Goodpasture graduate. “I’m old, but at least I’m hip. It was $75!”

Looking back, Jennifer says it’s fun to relive the memories she made as a member of the Marching Cougars from 5th grade to graduation, including several state championships wins. And although she doesn’t remember giving it away, she’s thrilled the jacket has made its way back to her. 

“At the time we were just band geeks,” laughs Jennifer. “And now we’re apparently cool!”