Former Canton resident Virginia Stone Gup Sharpe was the daughter of Canton clothing store operator Sam Stone, who, calling himself B. Virdot, in 1933 offered charity gifts to Canton families in need.

The Depression-era generosity was intended to be what decades later would be called "A Secret Gift." "In Consideration Of The White Collar Man!" That was the ad placed in The Canton Repository 90 ...

Virginia Stone Gup Sharpe, a central figure in one of the most inspiring stories in Canton's history, has died at 96. Without the Canton native, her father's Depression-era "B. Virdot" charity effort ...