It was the middle of the Great Depression, and University of Cincinnati engineering student Clarence Firch, '35, couldn't afford to buy a diamond ring to propose to his high-school sweetheart, Irma. So instead, he gave her one of his most prized possessions -- his solid-gold fraternity key.

According to daughter Kathy Creighton, Irma wore the Tau Beta Pi key, representing the honorary engineering fraternity of which Firch was a member, on a chain around her neck until the couple's wedding day in 1935. However, getting to the altar would prove to be a challenge by itself.

Unable to afford a wedding, and afraid that Irma would lose her job as a Harvey Girl waitress in Chicago if she was married, the couple decided to elope. There was one problem: They didn't have a way out of town.

Eager to help, Clarence's UC roommate, Edward Freiman, Eng '36, lent his car so the pair could wed in Crown Point, Ind. Firch would pay gratitude to Freiman, who went missing in action during World War II, by taking care of Freiman's parents as a promise to his friend.

The Firchs' story doesn't end there, either. They had four kids and moved around the country as Clarence took advantage of job opportunities brought to him through UC connections. In the end, the couple was married for 60 years, and Irma finally got her diamond ring -- on their 25th wedding anniversary.

Meanwhile, the 1930s fraternity key that pulled double-duty as an engagement ring is on display as part of the Cincinnati Museum Center's "Gold" exhibit, running through May. Clarence Firch probably never dreamed his gesture to his future bride would draw so much attention -- but it did lead to a lifelong love story, just as he proposed.