..Ralph Lindenberg was born into an artistic family. His great-grandfather, Herman Albert Lindenberg, was a famous artist in sculpting, drawing and design. In Germany he taught as a professor of art and also in the United States. He was knighted by Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany for his accomplishments in sculpting and art work. His two sons, Ernest and Eric were his apprentices. After he departed from Germany to the U.S. through Castle Garden, N.Y. in 1884, he settled in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1888 he was asked to come to Indianapolis, Indiana, to assist in the construction of the "Indiana Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument". There he and his two sons, Ernest (Ralph’s grandfather) and Eric (Ralph’s great-uncle) started working on the Memorial Monument. He was credited with the sculpture "The Return Home". It portrays the reunion of a returning soldier with his family. The plow is representative of the tools of peaceful labor. The woman on the plow model was Ida Lindenberg (Ralph’s great-grandmother). The sculpture is eleven feet high.
Ralph learned his skills in mold making and art work from his father, Herman A. Lindenberg, and his brother, Paul Albert Lindenberg who founded Lindenberg Yachts, Inc.

The original carving was started in Berlin, Germany, about 1879. In 1884, when the unfinished carving was shipped to the United States, the back of the carving indicated it was shipped to:

(1) New York City, NY Ida Lindenberg, then on to (2) St Louis, MO E. Lindenberg