In a season when politicians routinely make all kinds of claims, only former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul can claim to have delivered milk to the home of retired baseball legend Honus Wagner.

That detail and other glimpses of the Green Tree native's youth are found in "Ron Paul, a Life of Ideas," a biography released this month by Variant Press, a company that describes itself as a publisher of books on technology, computers and video gaming.

Now living in Lake Jackson, Texas, where he represents the 14th Congressional District, physician Ron Paul has suspended his campaign for president after garnering a handful of votes at the GOP convention earlier this month.

But his ideas continue to resonate with supporters stretching from California to the South Hills who, like him, favor smaller federal government, free markets and an outright end to America's involvement in Iraq.

The biography, written by Christopher Horner, Karen Kwiatkowski and several other contributors, details Dr. Paul's background and describes the region's influence and the "values of hard work and service" instilled early by his parents and his Western Pennsylvania community.

One of five brothers, Ronald Ernest Paul was born Aug. 20, 1935, during the Great Depression, to Howard and Peggy Paul. The Paul family operated a dairy farm in Green Tree, then a small farming, mining and railroad town.

As a 5-year-old, Dr. Paul worked with his brothers in the basement of the family's four-bedroom house, checking hand-washed milk bottles for spots.

Brad Porter, 29, of Squirrel Hill, a contributor to the biography and a supporter of Dr. Paul, said he briefly met two of Dr. Paul's brothers.

"[The brothers] talk about how they all worked hard and studied hard in their childhoods," he said.

In 1949, Ron Paul began his freshman year at Dormont High School, where he excelled in academic and athletics and was elected president of student council.

While in high school, he continued to work at the family dairy and at a drug store. He also met his future wife, Carol Wells, who grew up in Dormont and, in 1952, asked him to accompany her to a Sadie Hawkins party on her 16th birthday.

Four years later, he proposed near the swimming pool in Dormont Park. The couple married in 1957 in Dormont Presbyterian Church, while Dr. Paul was on a semester break during his senior year at Gettysburg College.

After attending medical school at Duke University and serving in the Air Force, Dr. Paul returned to Pittsburgh to complete a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Magee-Women's Hospital.

Today, Jeff and Kelly Hirleman and their son, Ian, 3, live in the former Paul family house. Jeff Hirleman said Dr. Paul stopped by more than a year ago to visit.

"He was very friendly, and he said he had many fond memories of growing up here," Mr. Hirleman said.

The Paul property has since been subdivided, Mr. Hirleman said, and a barn and a shed that once belonged to the Pauls now is owned by neighbors.

"He told me about how he used to sleep in the screened-in shed on summer nights," said Mr. Hirleman, 42, who supports Dr. Paul and many of his policies.

"It's important that Dr. Paul's message be heard," said Mr. Hirleman, who works as a boilermaker for a local union and said he shares Dr. Paul's belief in personal responsibility.

Prior to a rally earlier this month during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, Dr. Paul said he hopes to influence the party's agenda and ideology, even though he no longer seeks the presidency. While Dr. Paul still has supporters, he has effectively transformed himself from a candidate into a representative of a broader political movement, which he has dubbed the Campaign for Liberty.

Mr. Porter estimates there are about 250 active Ron Paul supporters who live in the Pittsburgh area and hundreds more who communicate online.

Nick Ramaglia, 26, of South Fayette, helps organize events for local supporters who have made contact through meetup.com, a Web site popular with Dr. Paul's backers.

Mr. Ramaglia quit his job as a pharmacy technician in the spring to dedicate himself fulltime to causes backed by Dr. Paul. Supporters meet about once a month, Mr. Ramaglia said.

The reasons people support Dr. Paul are varied, but local backers said they respect his knowledge of economics, his ideas on limiting federal spending and his long-standing opposition to abortion, among other issues. His Campaign for Liberty movement continues to seek members and to promote his principles through educational and political activity.

Local campaign supporters also are working to place a coordinator in every voting precinct, Mr. Ramaglia said.

"The Ron Paul movement will be here long after Ron Paul himself," he said.