Dimes and Dollar Watches: The Personal Philanthropy of John D. Rockefeller and Herbert Hoover

By Thomas F. Schwartz

John D. Rockefeller, Sr. is credited as being America's first billionaire, having made his fortune in the oil industry.

A devote Baptist, Rockefeller believed that money was not something to be hoarded but shared. He practiced the Biblical admonition of tithing, giving at least ten percent of his income away. Among the countless beneficiaries were the University of Chicago, Spelman College, Bryn Mawr as well as creating the Rockefeller Foundation that continues providing support to many worthy projects. Rockefeller was portrayed by leading investigative reporters of the day, whom Theodore Roosevelt termed "Muckrakers," as an unscrupulous businessman.

Yet another highly publicized Rockefeller practice was giving shiny new dimes to people he would encounter, especially children. One source estimated Rockefeller gave away $35,000 in dimes. For a child, a dime was a small fortune, especially in a candy store. It is no surprise that his grave obelisk in Cleveland, Ohio is often adorned with shiny dimes left by visitors.

Less known than the Rockefeller dime is the Herbert Hoover "dollar watch" that was often given to unsuspecting children. Mrs. Ellanor Lawrence recalled in her oral history that Lou Hoover gave her husband an Ingersoll dollar watch for his birthday because it "was the only kind he liked."

The Ingersoll Watch Company introduced the Yankee in 1896 pricing it at one dollar. Most people know Ingersoll watches by their production of the first Mickey Mouse watches in the 1930s. The dollar watch preferred by Herbert Hoover was described by Sydney Sullivan Parker, daughter of Hoover's good friend and journalist, Mark Sullivan, as "they had a shiny edge and a black face and shiny figures…"

Sullivan recalled:

"Mr. Hoover and my father used to take walks early, early in the morning-oh, 6:00, 5:30; they'd meet and just walk around talking. And Mr. Hoover always wore the dollar watches-an Ingersoll dollar watch. They would frequently meet a paper boy, and they would watch the paper boy and, if they decided he was an enterprising, competent, hard-working child, they'd call him and say, 'Would you like a watch?' and Mr. Hoover would take off his watch and present it to the child. Then he'd just go and buy another one and on another occasion do the whole thing over again. Oh, I saw dozens of them over a period of time… and I'm sure they dispensed a great deal of pleasure as they gave away the watches."

Mark Sullivan, on Herbert Hoover giving away Ingersoll Dollar Watches

The connecting thread was not so much the value-a dime versus a dollar watch-but the impact on the recipient; gratitude and encouragement. As one writer put it, the gifts were both "a symbol and a sermon." Both Rockefeller and Hoover were largely self-made individuals who did not take their success for granted. They realized that the making of money was less important than how it was invested to inspire and better the lives of individuals. The main difference was that Rockefeller made a public display of his distribution of dimes. Hoover, avoiding the spotlight, did his philanthropy without publicity.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.