12 december 1968 & independence federal savings bank's mitten tree

#OTD 12 December 1968 William B. Fitzgerald, president of the Independence Federal Savings and Loan (624 E St NW), which opened this summer, stands in front of the Mitten Tree with Tina Pedan, 3 years old. Pedan is a patient in the Children’s Care ward at DC General Hospital. After the holidays, the mittens will be donated to DC General and Children’s Hospitals.

Your comments are welcome below. Do you, family members or neighbors remember the Mitten Tree? Do you remember Tina Pedan? Do you remember William Fitzgerald? Do you remembers Independence? Did you bank there? Do you have any photographs or ephemera from 1968 related to Independence? Were you born at DC General? Were you born at Children’s? Did you work at either hospital? You may comment privately here.

Photo source: Courtesy DC Public Library Special Collections, Evening Star Collection, 12 December 1968.