Other Designs > Carl D. Bradley Shipwreck, 1958

Richard Book was a deck watchman on the ship. He was 26, single, and doing what he loved to do. He had recently tried to talk his brother into joining him because the money was so good. But Richard's brother, Mel, was married and just starting a family. Mel told me just today, via phone, that he came very close to joining his brother, but his wife wouldn't let him go. The rest is history. Richard's body was laid to rest at St. Bonifatius Cemetery in Westphalia, Iowa. This digital collage is an homage to him. Richard seems to have become my muse in this project, and this summer I will be visiting his gravesite, and his brother, in Westphalia.