John Rockefeller gave away kindness one nickel at a time.
I was standing outside
watering my lawn on a summer Monday morning and saw lots of long faces on the many
commuters that drive by my house in the early AM. Many of these commuters looked
like they could have used a small "pick me up".
Their less then excited faces made me think of a
recent trip I went on to see
President James Garfield's grave site in Lake View
Cemetery. While I was there I also visited John D.
Rockefeller's gravesite. I
noticed that one or more people had been
placing dimes on his headstone. I was
curious about this and discovered that Rockefeller was often seen handing out
dimes and nickels to poor adults and children. The story of his small acts of
kindness traveled far and apparently has been remembered for many years
after
his death.
A dime wasn't much money to this millionaire, but
these small acts brought a little bit of happiness into someone's life for a
moment, and during a time when there wasn't much to be happy about, that made a
memorable difference. Your act of kindness doesn't have to cost you much either,
but often you find the return you receive far outweighs what you gave. Spreading
happiness is always one of the best investments you can make. What small act of
kindness can you do at work or school today?

Did John Rockefeller really hand out
nickels and dimes to children?
Yes, he did! When he went walking he had one pocket full of nickels and
another pocket full of dimes! He even gave dimes as a playful
gesture to men like tire mogul Harvey Firestone and President Herbert
Hoover. Wikipedia says, "John Rockefeller became
well known in his later life for the practice of
giving dimes to adults
and
nickels to children wherever he went.
He even gave dimes as a playful
gesture to wealthy men, such as tire mogul Harvey Firestone". However,
Rockefeller didn't just
give children a nickel. He also gave them a short
message about
saving the nickel and working hard. He told the children to
work hard and be frugal, and that the coins were for saving, not for
indulgence! It is estimated that
Rockefeller gave out between 20,000 and
30,000
nickels and dimes during his lifetime and is said to have preferred
giving you a nickel versus his autograph! MB
1. Visitors to Lake View place dimes on John
Rockefeller's grave in hopes of gaining Rockefeller-like wealth.
Source
2. During the Great Depression, Rockefeller switched to giving nickels
instead of dimes.
Source
3. John Rockefeller would have done well with cash gifting programs.
Source
4. Many Rockefeller dimes and nickels are treasured to this day.
Source
5. A picture of John Rockefeller giving dimes and nickels.
Source
6. By 1920 Rockefeller already had become famous for handing out dimes.
Source
7. John Rockefeller Dimes Held By Hundreds in Nyack
Source
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