Ted and Ginny, a couple in their 60's own an old small white clapboard home in the gold rush territory of Calaveras County. Their oak covered two acre property abuts miles of scenic old grounds and each day they walk together to enjoy the trees and flowers, and breathe the pine scented fresh air.
But earlier this year, as they were completing their walk, at the edge of their yard, just beyond an aged 50 foot tall oak tree, one seemingly there for centuries, they spotted an old worn wooden box partially sticking out from the dark brown soil.
They knelt down, and with their fingers, dug up the box.
As they wiped the box with their fingers and palms, they slowly opened it and made a stunning discovery. It was packed with gold coins, whose luster shined brilliantly in the sunlight.
The coins had been minted in San Francisco from gold discovered during the gold rush, and were all dated in the 1800's.
Who buried them and why, we may never know.
But Ted and Ginny carefully marked the spot and rushed into their garage to get some shovels and trowels to dig around where they found the wooden box, seeking more containers. And that is just what they found.
In all, they found seven wooden boxes, each packed with shiny old gold coins. They took those wooden boxes to a well known San Francisco precious metals dealer and learned that not only were their coins highly sought after by collectors, but in sheer gold value, what they had discovered was worth $20 million.
Ted and Ginny were retired school teachers and had always lived modestly. What would they do with all of this new found wealth? What would you do if you were suddenly about to receive $20 million?
After careful consideration, they set up college scholarships for needy students, funded a new free medical clinic, expanded an animal rescue facility to help far more abandoned dogs and cats find loving homes, upgraded a homeless shelter and they started a food bank to help struggling families obtain food at no cost.
Ted and Ginny also created what they had always dreamed of, a travel fund, so they could afford to see the world.
And they did one more remarkable thing.
In prayer, they thanked the anonymous donor who so long ago had buried this golden treasure for without this person, never could their generosity to mankind and to unwanted defenseless pets have been possible.
Dick
Today's story was in part inspired by real life events http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0227-gold-coins-20140227,0,843659.story#axzz2uSCTFxPt
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