Ronald McDonald posed with a group of smiling nurses at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, 311 South L Street, on December 17, 1970. He had come to Tacoma specifically to visit Rhonda Street, age 4, who was severely burned when her nightgown caught fire from a dropped match. Bored with hospital food, Rhonda had discovered the joys of McDonalds cheeseburgers when a kindly doctor supplemented her bland diet. The burgers became her diet of choice. When news spread of the child's accident and the fact that no group had come forth to help with mounting hospital and physician costs, McDonald's offered a large donation with any coordinated fundraising. Ronald, along with "Fairy Godmother" Judy Warren, stopped by the hospital with Rhonda's favorite meal: a juicy cheeseburger, fries and strawberry milk shake. He stayed for a party with children who had healed enough to go home.
