On August 27, 1896, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Jefferson welcomed a baby into the world. Earl Vincent Jefferson was born in the Steele County township of Colgate. The family moved to Hope in 1902, and Earl entered the school system there. He graduated in 1914. His life was off to a promising start. But on this day in 1918, the Hope Pioneer announced to the community that Earl Vincent Jefferson had been killed in action on a battlefield in France.