Young Howard Ruede was heading into Kansas to start a homestead for his family, who waited for him from their home in Pennsylvania. All he had to do was build a house, plow up a few acres for crops, and send word for Pa, Ma, and his brothers and sister to join him. His dream burned strong within him, but it didn’t take long for Howard to discover that life on the plains was not at all as he’d expected, and he almost gave up his dream altogether.