To most of us, the name Tom Howard doesn't strike any chords. But to the people of Turlock, California, it is very recognizable.I didn't know Tom Howard personally. He passed away on May 15th of this year. To most anyone from Modesto or Turlock who has lived in these parts for any length of time, Tom was an icon of local politics and free speech.
Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of being at Tom Howard's Irish wake at the restaurant where I work. I took the photographs. I also put together a slideshow from scanned photos of Tom. This short blog entry does not do justice to the man's most interesting life. I will attempt to put it all in perspective here in the very near future. It bears much more attention that I can provide at this point. Like I said...I never met Tom Howard. But I got to "know" him just a little by attending his wake last Sunday.
