The Wilmington morning star., 1947-03-23
Scout Executive Former
Explorer; Relic Finder

AHe, sym Work and physical edu-
cation.
Even though l was too small
When l went out for the football
team In my freshman and sopho-
more year, l still won my foot
ball letter by being of
the team" He is still proud of
that letter.
Il had always wanted to do
mountain climbing, so with a
group of fellows, l went to a place
called Dundee Rocks, near Can
lon' Ohio, and while I was going
very slowly to the top 1 slipped
and fell 48 feet, breaking three
~vertebrae in my back. resulting
m the paralysing of part of my
left leg" Baker says.
The doctor said that I would,
never walk again, but l had a
different opinion and bet him my
hospital bill l would get up and
walk again. He did not bet, but
TO me it was a bet, and I did
finally get up and walk out of
the hospital The doctor thought
a nerve had been severed but
later found out it was a blood
clot. This accident held him back
from entering the army, although
he can walk as good as anybody.
For a year after that l had
TO, wear a brace on my leg, yet
l could still play basketball - to
which the old dec plainly object
ed. Although it stopped me from
doing gym work I did instruct the
freshmen cases." he said.
While in his Junior and senior
year he became secretary and
president of the Phi Lambda au
fraternity and a member Of the
Alpha Phi. Omega, a national dra-
mates fraternity.
when l left college I thought
l. was going to be a school teach
er, but later decided against such
a vocation and went 10 Ohio State,
where l received my masters de-
gree in social work" he said. He
graduated from Otterbein with his
degree in dramatics and physical
education.
After college he took a job with
the Montgomery county relief
agency as a special investigator.
In 1885 he went with the recre-
alton department in Dayton as as
sistan. director. He worked there
for about a year, and in 1896 to
a job with the State Recreation
department as area supervisor for
% southern counties in Ohio. He
worked out of Chillicothe. From
there he went to Columbus as
area supervisor for 40 counties.
All this time l was with the
three different troops" he re-
called.
I'm 1888 1 decided that 1 liked
the Boy Scout movement and l
entered National Training
school in Mendham, New Jersey
for SO days.
Il took a job at Huntington. w.
Va, with the Tri-Stste council, but
I was located at Ashland, Ky, and
served three counties as field ex-
ecutive and assistant scout eXecu-
tive.
THE boys there were badly in
need of a summer camp so we
began a campaign TO start one.
We got the land, 404 acres, from
Charles Hook, president OF the
American Rolling Mills company.
Then We set up one of the first
houses in that county, an old log
cabin built back in 1907 which was
being torn down by the Federal
government in order TO erect a
Federal. penitentiary at Summit,
Ky. It took an act Of Congress
to get that building for us.
eve tore it down log by log.
being careful to tag each of the
hand-heWed logs so we could build
it back exactly like it was origi-
nally.
While still in Ashland 1 became
interested in the vast caves and
caverns buried deep into the hill
sides Of that country and did a
lot of cave exploring.
1--WE had to be very careful to
blaze a trail so we could find