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Doyne Baker
11th Grade From Then To Now
Everyone’s life is governed from
choices made by us or by others that will become building blocks to your
future.
I was born in Gideon on the main
street in a house that was moved in 1948 to build the Wilcoxson Furniture
Store. It is now the Campbell Furniture Store.
I was delivered by Dr. Ellis. Dr.
Ellis wore many hat’s, he was an MD, Lawyer, Licensed Surveyor. I feel that
his favorite occupation was in a little shop next door to the El Morocco
Club where he repaired TV’s and Radios. He made his own Medicines; one of
his favorites was Potash. Potash today is used as a fertilizer. I suppose
that is why so many of us today are known as being full of “fertilizer”.
Some people claim my “fertilizer” retention is excellent.
I attended Gideon School until 1949.
My parents divorced and my mother moved us to St. Louis. That year I changed
schools three times between St. Louis and Gideon. Because of these choices
made for me I fell behind and that was the year I joined the class noted as
1959. That put me in the same class as my half sister Patty Street, which
eventually we became good friends. The next couple of years I attended other
schools in St. Louis but I always seemed to return to the friendly confines
of Gideon. My senior year I made the choice of returning back to St. Louis
and graduated from Cleveland High.
After graduation I began my working
career. I worked at the G. M. Company as an assembler, at Goodyear as an
auto mechanic, and three separate companies as a journeyman machinist. I
even worked as a bookkeeper. The best choice I made was in 1975 when I
accepted a job at The Ford Motor Company. I started as a welder, and ended
my career as a Mechanical Engineer. I worked hard for Ford and in return
Ford was good to me. It gave me the opportunity to live well, travel, and
now I can enjoy a great retirement.
My most rewarding choice was having
the privilege of meeting and marrying my wife Pat, “talk about luck”. We
have been married for 47 years. We have two sons, and three grandchildren.
Our oldest son, Doyne, III lives in
St. Charles, MO. He works with abused children. He has my only granddaughter
Natalie, age 11.
My youngest son, Kenneth lives in St.
Charles, MO. He is a computer Analyst, working for Emerson Electric. He has
my two grandsons, Kenneth Jr. age 19, who is 6’7” tall, and Justin, age 17,
who is 6’4”, which makes my 5’7” really short.
I have now retired and moved back to
the “Dirt Roads” area where everything began. We live on the Lake Wappapello.
My back door opens up to the Lake. We have two boats. One used as a fish
control vessel, and a pontoon made for leisurely reading “educational
material”, and napping.
I care very much for my class. It
appears that the people from class 1959, has become very good and productive
citizens. I hope the people that read the bios of our class will appreciate
the struggles and the triumphs of what the “KIDS” from a little town in
Southeast Mo., called Gideon went through to become what they are today.
Always remember
Gideon Anderson may have started the town but the people made it.
Mr. Lyman Huckeby stands out as being
my most influential teacher.
July 22, 2006
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