“A Deadly Deception: The Asbestos Tragedy in McLean County” – From Family History to Community Museum Exhibit

I want to give special thanks to the McLean County Museum of History, Laborers' InternationalUnion (LiUNA) Midwest Region, and curators Mike Matejka and Susan Hartzold for creating and supporting this important exhibit through worker/union/community/museum collaboration.I am grateful to everyone who shared their time and wealth of knowledge.There is a special place in my family's hearts for this exhibit, for everyone who made it a reality, and for each person whose life has been changed by a company's deadly deceit.My earliest childhood memories are of my tall, smiling grandfather-in whose muscular arms I loved to curl up-rapidly becoming more frail and pained when I crawled onto his lap.I was proud of my grandfather, Willard Tipsord: a caring family man, a foster father, and an active member of Carpenters Local 63 in McLean County, Illinois.As a preschooler, I would point out buildings around town that he had helped construct.