A Secret Gift: How One Man's Kindness—and a Trove of Letters—Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression

Reading A Secret Gift over the Thanksgiving weekend, the timeliness of the novel could not be ignored. Mr. B. Virdot placed his ad right before Christmas of 1933. Rather than worrying about getting the best deal on electronics or toys, most people then were worried about finding enough money to pay for their next meal. The contrast is almost appalling. As commercials and advertisements blitz audiences with fantastic sales, and as consumerism continues to drive the holidays, one cannot help but compare two generations in their abilities to cope and to offer hope to others.

A Secret Gift is not a novel to be read quickly over a short period of time. Rather, one has to read it slowly, only because the shame and despair behind each letter is show more difficult to absorb. Often full of grammatical errors and written by people with little to no formal education, the sheer need behind each letter is heart-wrenching. The stories of what occurred in each family after receiving the gift is no less poignant. For some, Mr. B. Virdot's gift was a high-water mark in a life filled with hardship and poverty. For others, it was the means by which they were able to turn their lives around for a future filled with unparalleled success. There is no rhyme or reason why some families were able to succeed so well while others continued to flounder, which makes the stories that much more difficult to stomach.

Mr. Gup does an excellent job of putting the Depression into context; the recipients of the gifts were already used to hard times and a life filled with danger. They were already survivors before situations got worse in the 1930s. This only helped them buckle down even further and find ingenious ways to continue to survive while maintaining their dignity. Written during the "Great Recession of 2008-2009", the parallels between then and today cannot be ignored. Given today's ease of living, even during the recession, would current generations be able to adapt and survive as well? The fact is that there is a reason why those who experienced the Great Depression rightfully earned the title of The Greatest Generation, and it is unlikely that any subsequent generation would ever be able to measure up to the amount of suffering that generation was able to overcome.

Mr. Gup's unraveling of the mystery of Sam Stone is rather anti-climatic given the suffering presented in the letters. Mr. Stone's life story is just as tragic, yet by 1933, he was able to weather the Depression in relative comfort. Yet, his remains a remarkable story of selflessness. The personal nature of the offer, the fact that he alone decided who would receive the money and who would not, rather than letting an agency decide, makes the act more poignant and more real. Again, it raises the question whether such an act would work in today's society.

The comparisons are inevitable, but they in no way lessen the suffering by each letter writer. If anything, Mr. Stone's gifts and the impact that $5 had on each recipient confirms the idea that the smallest gift from the heart means more than anything impartially given. A Secret Gift will force the reader to reevaluate what it means to suffer, to be poor and what it means to give. It will change the way a reader approaches the holidays and help one appreciate the Greatest Generation all over again. show less

I am not sure where I first heard the name Ted Gup. It could have been a Goodreads friend, or it could have been an article by that author written more recently. When I investigated his name more closely, I discovered he’d written a book, this book, in 2010 about discovering a suitcase of letters in his grandmother’s attic. I’d recently had that experience, finding a huge trove of WWI memorabilia behind a wall in my great aunt’s attic: notes and photos from the front and letters back describing a 1918 adherence to government rationing on meat consumption which led families to resort to eating woodchuck.

Gup’s experience was different. The letters he found were in response to an ad placed in a newspaper in the height of the show more Depression in Canton, Ohio close on Christmas 1933. The ad invited readers to send a letter to a Mr. B. Virdot describing their hardships. Mr. Virdot promised to send a gift to 50-75 individuals whose identities “would always remain secret.” “There is a question in my mind whether I would accept charity directly offered by welfare organizations,” he wrote. “I know there are hundreds of men faced with economic problems who think, feel and act the same way.”

Mr. B. Virdot was Ted Gup’s grandfather, who lied for years about his origins and his name. This book is the story of uncovering that history, and of finding and fleshing out histories of the families whom Mr. Virdot helped that Christmas in 1933. How many letters were delivered to the paper in response to the advert is not recorded. Initially Mr. Virdot had intended to respond to 50-75 letters but the numbers and the needs were so great that Virdot halved the amount to each family and doubled the number of recipients to exhaust the $750 dollars he had deposited in an account at Canton’s George D. Harter Bank. Some of the 150 letters are reprinted in this account along with a backstory of the individual asking for aid.
"...it was the smallness of B. Virdot's gift--a mere five dollars--that was its magic, not an act of governmental grandiosity but a gesture of human compassion."
I am reluctant to reveal the history of Sam Stone, as Mr. B. Virdot was known in real life, because his history is so tied in with American history at the turn of the last century and is the real mystery behind my fascination with this book. Sam Stone’s history began for his grandson only when he appeared in Ohio, at age thirty. The years before were shrouded in mist and this book reveals how that happened. It took years of research to uncover that history, crisscrossing the east coast searching for clues. The truth lies in a dark period in America when xenophobia, anti-immigration policies, discrimination, and suspicion were aimed at immigrants suspected of carrying the contagion of radicalism.

Sam Stone, writing in the newspaper ad as Mr. B. Virdot, had experienced hardship. Because of that, he opened his heart and his wallet to try and ease the lives of those he saw suffering around him. How did B. Virdot have $750 in cash to hand out at that time? Well, the truth of it was that he didn’t have much. His business as a clothing store salesman had suffered enormous setbacks, e.g., fire, theft, and collapse in 1929. But Sam Stone was grateful that his business had a good year in 1933, and he wanted to share the wealth. His grandson tells us that for the rest of his life “nothing, in his view, beat the hot dogs at Woolworth’s lunch counter.”

This story is significant for a number of reasons, but perhaps most importantly it allows one to wander years not so far distant in our nation’s history when people saw widespread deprivation first hand and suffered the indignities of poverty. “There is no romanticizing the wreckage it wrought,” Gup writes. “But it also rid us of our sense of entitlement and made us take inventory of our intangible wealth. The Depression was like a great anvil upon which our national character was beaten into shape. It forged an indomitable spirit we later recognized as ‘The Greatest Generation.’”

In one of the photos included in the book, and in one of the last family histories, Gup recounts his conversation with the youngest of the letter-writers to Mr. B. Virdot. Helen Palm was fourteen when she answered the ad placed by B. Virdot.
"My father does not want to ask for charity. But us children would like to have some clothing for Christmas…If you should send me Ten Dollars I would buy clothing and buy the Christmas dinner and supper. I thank you. Helen Palm"
Gup found Helen Palm, now Helen Kintz Grant, in a nursing home just outside of Canton. Upon receiving the five dollars, she said in 2010, “I went right down and bought a pair of shoes.” She’d been cutting out the shape of her sole from an empty shredded-wheat cereal box and inserting into her shoes. The rest of the money went to taking her family out to eat. show less

After his grandmother's death, journalist Ted Gup became the custodian of a suitcase filled with family papers. He was at first puzzled by a bundle of letters to a “B. Virdot” among the suitcase's contents. A little research revealed that his grandfather, the owner of a business in Canton, Ohio, had taken out a newspaper advertisement in the week before the Christmas of 1933 in the name of B. Virdot. He offered monetary gifts to families hit hard by the Depression. Gup tracked down descendants of the recipients of his grandfather's anonymous gifts of cash. He also discovered new information about his grandfather's family and their origins.

Reading this book during the Christmas season provided a reminder of the generosity of spirit show more that is too easy to lose in all of the “busy-ness” and commercialization of the season. It also provided insight into the effects of the Depression in the Midwest, where family on both sides of my family tree weathered the Hard Times. The author's grandfather had hidden some parts of his history and fabricated others. Although family history isn't the primary focus of the book, information about the author's research into his grandfather's past might suggest new avenues of research for other family historians with similarly difficult ancestors in their trees. Highly recommended for readers with an interest in Canton, Ohio, and its history, in the Depression era, in family history, or in philanthropy. show less

I’m of two minds about this book.

Pro: It is thought-provoking and inspirational, a very personal insight into real people and their experiences in The Great Depression. If you don’t have grandparents, etc. who lived through it to tell you about it - and only know the little blurbs from high school history class – this will be a real revelation.

Con: It is just so darn long and repetitive. That makes me sound like an ogre, I’m sure, but I honestly thought the tale could have been told in half the number of pages – or less.

Reading The Secret Gift, put me in remembrance of Jason Wright's Christmas Jars. The way it's written, the theme, and outcome. However, I can't fully compare the two because the stories ARE different and, of course, one is bigger than the other. The time eras are also different. It's just the meaning behind the story and the emotions that I feel as I read them both. The Secret Gift is a life changing book. So much so, that I feel this book TOPS Christmas Jars. Simply put: I loved this book.

Written about one of THE Hardest Times in American history, The Great Depression was so terrible for many, many people. Especially around the holidays. The historical, accurate details written about Ted Gup's family secret is absolutely amazing. show more While this was a true story, this book read like a wonderful fictional novel. It wasn't boring, it had pictures of the families from this horrific time in history, and it was emotional for me to read. I love when a memoir can be read like a fiction book. Ted Gup captures every emotion known to man-hunger, sadness, loneliness, heartache, anger, faith, love, happiness and hope- in this wonderfully written book. Gup was able to truly capture the events during The Great Depression in Canton, Ohio. The effect, during a holiday season, really took a toll on my heart. It was sad to read about the families and how many of them had no homes or clothes...and what the banks did was just horrible! This book really brought into perspective what went on during that time, especially since I had grandparents living during that time. But, through all this sadness and hardships, a holiday miracle took place that year, all because of a wonderful gift of a stranger.

In all honesty, this is a book that I would have seen in a bookstore and passed right by. However, after reading this emotional 5 star book, I would have been missing out. Through one man's gift during hard times, a lesson of love and hope and kindness is woven through out. A pay-it-forward sort of act. I highly, highly recommend that you read this life changing book. I'm glad I had the chance to review this book. Just take warning: have many, many tissues handy for this book! show less

The author explores the secret life of his grandfather- who during the Depression, gave 75 families an anonymous gift of $5. 75 years later, Gup tracks down family members of the recipients to see if they knew the impact of each gift. With each letter that he includes, a picture of abject poverty and hopelessness of the time is revealed. The author ties in the requests with his grandfather's life. As a child of parents who grew up in the depression, it explained SO much- no whining, keep your troubles to yourself, whatever you have- give thanks and it is enough. Gup also tied in some of the present day economic issues. I would NOT have read the book- except I was challenged to read nonfiction- and this looked interesting. I would show more recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the depression, charitable works and family. show less

I liked the author's style and felt his book dealt with the suffering of those during the Great Depression in a respectful way. The author's grandfather desired privacy in the giving of his gifts, and I find that admirable, but now, so very many years later, I felt this is a worthwhile story to know, an important piece of the history of our nation, and I'm glad the author chose to share it. It also seemed clear to me that the author included the descendants' stories with their permissions, and that makes all the difference to me. It is good to see the sensitivity of the grandfather has been passed on to the grandson.