What good deeds can you lay claim to in your lifetime? Now, how many of those were publicized in the media? And finally, how many of your random acts of kindness were repaid with good karma?
Week 14: Great
Unknown photographer, black and white digitally cropped photograph of Vera Eggenberger, 1920, Ottawa, Kansas. The original whole photograph includes her father J.C. Eggenberger, and siblings Alta, Louise, and Raymond.
My grandaunt, Vera (Eggenberger) Wicke, proved her good-natured intentions at the young age of six. While living in Ottawa, Kansas in 1917, she was walking about town with her mother on a weekend afternoon in July, when a bright, shiny object grabbed her attention as they were crossing the street.
She stopped and pointed it out to her mom – it was a gold watch! She picked it up and noticed that it was still working. They were only about a block away from the newspaper offices of The Herald, so they traipsed over there and informed them of the find. Turns out, a teacher around the age of 21, who had grown up in a nearby town, Miss Dollie Williams, had lost it that very same day.
The Herald, “A 6-YEAR-OLD FOUND WATCH,” 24 July 1917, Ottawa, Kansas.
Dollie came back around to The Herald later that week to retrieve it, but Vera wasn’t left empty-handed. She was thanked with a $1.50 reward!
The Herald, “REWARDED LITTLE GIRL,” 25 July 1917, Ottawa, Kansas.
And for a youngster, especially at that time, she was thrilled with the outcome. I’m sure her parents were also quite proud of their little girl’s ethical action of turning in something with such value to the proper authorities. Her morals definitely paid off in the end, and everyone came out a great winner.
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