Tribute: Three Lives Remembered: A Story of Poverty Passion and Hope

In 1932 a 15-year-old boy was transplanted from a small farm in northern Minnesota to a large hospital in Minneapolis. He had been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and was undergoing radiation treatments that produced pain and mind-wrenching homesickness. At the same time another 15-year-old boy was fighting for his life in a hospital room not far from Ernie. Tom had been forced to leave his home and was riding the rails looking for work when he became sick. Thirteen years later a second transplant occurred. This time it was Ernies brother Raymond (Fat) who left the Minnesota farm to serve in World War Two. Raymonds letters home are replete with references to a brother with whom he shared a special bond while growing up together. Tribute: Three Lives Remembered is a story honoring the memories of three people whose worlds were both removed from and inextricably tied to each other. Its a story told through poignant letters that spoke consistently and longingly of hope for a return to the small farm in northern Minnesota and the people who lived there.