GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump has been vilified by some in the news media and some of his opponents, but one Georgia family still sees him as the man who saved their farm in 1986.
Leonard Dozier Hill III, a third-generation farmer, shot himself to death the day his family farm was set to be auctioned off. He had hoped to have his life insurance policy pay off the debt, but, like most such policies, it didn't cover suicide.
If the Trump campaign is smart, it will bring up the story as the "SEC Primary" of southeastern states approaches on March 1,
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution advises.
Trump intervened. Help raise the money to pay off the farm and flew the family to New York where they held a mortgage burning ceremony.
Though Trump initially tried to be anonymous, word got out, so he used his media flair to draw attention to the family's plight.
Frank Argenbright, whom Hill's widow, Annabel, had initially turned to for help, said that Trump turned off the waterfall in Trump Tower to make the sound right for TV cameras, and pre-tested the mortgage burning to ensure the flames were photogenic enough.
Hill's family still remembers Trump for his kindness.
"We saw a whole different side of him that was kindhearted, to reach out to us, to help us," Hill's daughter Betsy Sharp said. "Most people don’t know and see that side. All they see is just the 'blurt' that people put on the TV. They don’t see the other side of him, and that’s what my family got to experience."
Sharp's brother, Leonard Dozier Hill IV, still lives on the farm.
Related Stories:
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.