On August 10, Tuck and Minneapolis Jewel, the 2017 Hobo King and Queen, sat on the bench at the Queen’s Garden outside of Mary Jo’s Hobo House in Britt, Iowa.
For about 40 minutes, they’ve spent their time talking and taking pictures with people who have come to celebrate Hobo Days weekend.
One man approaches the bench from across the street.
The usual small talk ensues as he sits next to Tuck.
“My name is Tuck and this is my wife, Jewell,” Tuck says while shaking his hand.
The man reaches across Tuck to shake Minneapolis Jewel, she asks his name.
“My name is Jeff Ray and I’m your brother,” he said to Tuck.
Jewell’s head snaps her head in his direction, shock on her face.
Not far behind, Tuck realizes who he’s talking to and the two collapse into an embrace.
The hug seemed endless.
Jeff Ray wasn’t here to see Tuck, the hobo king.
He was here to see Darrel Ray, his brother.
A number of emotions passed through Tuck; happiness, sadness, excitement, shock.
“I don’t know what I felt,” Tuck said. “It was like out of body, or something, man. My body went numb.”
For 30 years, Tuck hasn’t seen or spoke with his family.
From an early age, Tuck and his three brothers and one sister went through a rough upbringing being raised by a single father.
The family moved several times between Louisiana, Arkansas and their home state of Illinois.
It was the early 70s when the siblings would start to separate from each other.
Three siblings, Tanya, Leslie and Jeff all kept in contact with each other throughout the years.
Mark would end up roaming around and rarely kept contact with the other siblings.
Similarly, Tuck would go on to live his live as a tramp on the railroad.
Since 1988, Tuck had kept no contact with any of them.
“We’d wind up fussing and fighting with each other all the time,” he said.
Much of Tuck’s memories of his siblings is getting into fights with each other.
It wasn’t utill this year that Tuck felt compelled to seek out his brothers and sister, he didn’t want to die without making amends with his family.
Read the complete story in the Aug. 22 Leader.
