By
Scott Thomas Anderson
Plymouth may be small, but its spirit of giving loomed large thanks to local developers and the city's dedicated volunteer force Dec. 18.
It's no secret that times are hard in Plymouth. Unusually high water rates, rural blight and dwindling jobs across Amador County have created many needy families in the area.
Yet many in Plymouth were not ready to let Christmas cheer fall to the wayside. The city's volunteer firefighters set up a toy donation bin at Foothill Motorcycle off Highway 49 and then went out into the public on a mission to collect more toys. By the night of Dec. 18, the firefighters' success was clear.
"They collected a ton of toys," said Barbara Nicholson of the Lodge Hill Committee. "The quality and the number of toys was so amazing. I never would have dreamt they could get that many."
Nicholson and fellow Lodge Hill Committee members were in charge of preparing the Christmas dinners that were to be given out. The generosity of several local developers left them shocked.
"Stephanie McNair and Tony Zeiter started off by donating 60 frozen turkeys and all the fixin's," Nicholson recalled. "Those were what was given out Friday. But Stephanie and Tony weren't finished. They gave up 30 more turkey dinners to take around to needy families in Plymouth who stayed at home that night."
Several Lodge Hill Committee members and Gill Jamerson of the Ione Band of Miwoks spent Saturday delivering the dinners. Once they were finished, they still knew of about 15 more households that needed help. Again, McNair and Zeiter came through, purchasing more dinners. Local developer Bob Reeder also donated to the cause.
For Nicholson, the weekend proved to be both rewarding and eye-opening. "It was very emotional for many of those who received help," she said. "There were a lot of tears. I guess I wasn't expecting that reaction. But I think it proves there's a lot more people out there in need than we really know."
