Jeannette Whitcher understood the concept of “pay it forward” before it became a byword. In this January 1964 photo, she and Olympia Vocational Technical Institute classmate Paul Golden view a pile of wrapped gifts. The Golden family had lost all of their Christmas gifts in a fire, and Mrs. Whitcher organized a drive to replace them. Her family had experienced a similar loss and resulting community support several years before.
Daily Olympian photo, State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society, catalog C1986.43.64.1.17.1
Text © Deborah Ross and The Olympian 2020