Dotty Hayes
Dotty Hayes was born into a working-class family that had never had much to spare. Even years after World War II, her parents struggled to make ends meet, stretching every penny as far as it could go. When Dotty's mother became desperately ill, her father searched through everything he had and finally placed a single Maria Theresa Thaler coin into his daughter's hand. It was all the money he had left. “Take this to the pharmacist,” he told her. “It's enough for the medicine your mother needs.” Dotty understood how important the coin was and promised she wouldn't lose it.
She hurried down the street toward the pharmacy, passing crowds of excited people tearing open Wonka bars and desperately searching for Golden Tickets. Dotty barely paid them any attention. She had a much more important job to do — getting her mother's medicine. But when she reached into her pocket outside the pharmacy, her heart sank. There was a hole in the fabric, and the coin was gone. She retraced every step she'd taken, carefully searching the gutters, curbs, and pavement, but found nothing. Desperate, she asked people nearby if they had seen it, only to find that nobody seemed interested in her problem. Everyone was celebrating a blonde boy who had just found the last Golden Ticket. While the whole street erupted in cheers, Dotty quietly continued searching for the one little coin that could mean everything to her family.