When his father retires early, young Fred is forced to leave the ice cream shops, elevated trains, and bustling streets of suburban Chicago and move to a small farm in southwest Wisconsin. It is the beginning of a new life filled with fun and adventure. There is a snake den under the back porch and the kitchen floor is covered with dead insects. There are snapping turtles to catch and farm animals to play with. But there is also work to be done. The old farmhouse has to be completely rebuilt. Dad's vision of being a gentleman farmer involves having his two sons help with milking the cows, taking care of the chickens, fixing fences, and shoveling snow off the driveway in addition to attending school. And the Wisconsin summers are hot and humid, the winters long and bitterly cold. This is the story of how one family of four manages the transition from Chicago to rural Wisconsin in the late 1950s to 1960s. The story unfolds in a series of vignettes seen through Fred's eyes, which describe how they renovate the old farmhouse, get an inactive dairy farm up and running, learn how to plant and harvest crops, overcome hardships, and adapt to the personalities and customs of a traditional farming community. The experiences will leave a permanent impression on Fred. Listening to the colorful characters in Richland Center and Yuba, exploring the farm on horseback, rounding up stray cows and sheep, cooling off at the swimming hole on the Pine River, catching fireflies, and stargazing on clear summer nights-these are memories that will last a lifetime. Dr. Fred G. Baker is a hydrologist, historian, and author living in Colorado. He is the author of The Life and Times of Con James Baker and The Light from a Thousand Campfires (with Hannah Pavlik).
Born just before the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Con James Baker lived long enough to see men land on the moon. He saw firsthand the horrors of the First World War, thrived in Chicago during the Roaring Twenties, and in so doing, rubbed elbows with gangsters. Throughout those changing times, he maintained his desire for adventure and his sense of optimism about the future. This is his story.
Turmoil grips the Caribbean island nation of Grenada as its people await national elections. There is mischief underway. Four nations compete to change the voting outcome in their favor, away from democracy and toward regional domination. What hidden forces are at work and who is behind them? Journalist and secret agent Robert Wilson has only a week to unravel the clues and find out how to avert a soft coup d'état. He is joined by an aging English Lord named Lightchurch and his alluring Grenadian security guard, Madeline, in a tense search for answers before all hell breaks loose on the island. A secretive Chinese company, a smoldering volcano, a torrential storm, a beautiful Venezuelan spy, a Russian oligarch. And the mysterious Black Freighter. All may be involved. Can Wilson and his ad hoc team untangle the web of intrigue in time? Will disaster be averted?
John Baker was the first known Baker ancestor of his line to arrive in America. He settled in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1665 and raised a family that produced many generations of descendants. Those descendants explored and settled Connecticut and later spread out into the land and territories of the United States as the country grew westward. They were farmers, soldiers, landowners, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, surveyors, scientists, and statesmen. Some of them, including many patriots of the American Revolution, fought in the battles and wars that helped to define this nation. They had one thing in common-they were all risk takers who sought to better their lot in life. This book tells the story of thirteen generations of Bakers in America. It is both the product of several years of original research and a compilation of the work of previous authors, woven together to reconstruct the history of the people that comprise the huge family of Bakers and their associated lines. Researching these families led the author to original records and transcripts in libraries, churches, cemeteries, family properties, and historical sites in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, Iowa, and other states. The result is a thorough picture of the descendants of John Baker that serves as a reliable resource for readers interested in learning about this amazing family. It also provides an organizational framework onto which other researchers can attach their family trees. The work is presented in two volumes, this being the second of the two. Volume I describes descendant generations one through eight and includes a selection of charts and photos. Volume II presents generations nine through thirteen and contains the overall index for both volumes. Dr. Fred G. Baker is a hydrologist, historian and author living in Colorado. He began investigating his family history out of curiosity about where his branch of the Bakers came from. He is the author of Growing Up Wisconsin, The Life and Times of Con James Baker, and The Light from a Thousand Campfires (with Hannah Pavlik).
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