grace_and_chuck_tolson_dickson_ranch
SAN GERONIMO VALLEY: Grace and Chuck Tolson began a tradition of giving anonymous Christmas presents to families in need three decades ago (it continues as the nonprofit Valley Toys and Joys). Their community celebrates them this month.  David Briggs

About three decades ago Grace Tolson, a fourth-generation San Geronimo Valley rancher who runs the Dickson Ranch with her husband, Chuck, drove a couple miles down Sir Francis Drake to the community center, moved to somehow help the people she saw struggling around her. She and her family weren’t rich, she said, but she thought she could provide some anonymous Christmas cheer. The center knew of a couple that didn’t have enough money to buy…