This is a story from the 8/2/87 New York Times:
Shortly before the Hills' 1,300-acre farm in Waynesboro, Ga., was to be auctioned in February 1986, Mrs. Hill's 67-year-old husband, Lenard D. 3d, told her to settle their debts by collecting his life insurance. Then he shot himself fatally to stop the sale.
The insurance netted $175,000; the debts exceeded $300,000. Parts of the farm were sold, but even that wasn't enough. Last Sept. 2, the remaining 715 acres were up for auction again.
This time, Donald J. Trump, the New York real-estate developer, halted the sale. He phoned the auction block and assured the creditors that he would help Mrs. Hill.
''It's worked out real, real well,'' she says. ''All 715 acres were saved.''
A son is farming corn, cotton and soybeans on the acreage under Government subsidy programs. ''It's a living,'' Mrs. Hill says, noting that ''we don't have any debts anymore.''
After halting the farm's sale, Mr. Trump invited Mrs. Hill and her family to New York. ''We needed $180,000,'' she says, to pay off debts.
A public fund drive raised $101,000. Then a Dallas property owner, Thomas McKamy, donated $38,000, and Mr. Trump gave $46,000, according to a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, Norma Foerderer. The extra $5,000 that was raised covered legal fees.
Seems quite legit to me.