Here are some of the stories about The Traveling Tom Exhibit, honoring the life of the late Tom Brigham:
Tom had a very special relationship with Luka Kapkai, a native of Eldoret, Kenya, who teaches science at Neosho County Community College.
Iola Rotary Club members made numerous trips to Eldoret to deliver eyeglasses, medical supplies, water filters and chickens. Tom wanted to take his granddaughter, Jaci Houk, on a future trip but never got the chance.
Judy asked Luka if he would take some of Tom’s ashes to scatter in Kenya.
He said no: “I want Tom’s granddaughter to do it.”
Luka and Jaci are planning a future trip.
The family’s first vacation took place when daughter Kari Smith was 5. It was a spontaneous road trip to Key West in Florida. Kari remembers listening to the song “Kokomo” by the Beach Boys when they first arrived.
Family members returned to Key West to scatter Tom’s ashes. 
It was Kari’s first time scattering ashes. When she finished, she turned around to go into a tourist shop to buy a postcard to remember the event.
The song “Kokomo” immediately started to play.
One of the Iola Rotary Club’s missions is to provide wheelchairs to those in need. The American Wheelchair Mission is a national effort led by Chris Lewis, son of actor Jerry Lewis who is known for his telethons to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Tom’s granddaughter, Jaci Houk of Ottawa who now attends Allen Community College, has taken up the wheelchair mission as a cause. She has developed a friendship with Chris.
During a mission trip to deliver wheelchairs in Hidalgo, Mexico, Chris helped the family spread Tom’s ashes in an oleander bush.
The district governor for the Iola Rotary Club’s district called Judy on New Year’s Day and told her: “Judy, you’re going to want to watch the Rose Bowl Parade. Tom’s in it.”
He had tucked a tiny tube filled with Tom’s ashes amongst the flowers on the Rotary’s float.
