[Lions-roar] Baker - A plea from a former student who attended 1st, 2nd and 12th grade at Baker

[Sylvia Head]

From: Charles Haag [mailto:haagc at charter.net]
Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 7:57 PM
To: 'walker.j at mindspring.com'; 'cjwilliams at mcsdga.net'; 'pgreen at mcsdga.net';
'jwells at knology.net'; 'buckner.n at earthlink.net'; 
'whitesidef at mindspring.com'; 'bstorey at mcsdga.net'; 
'joeroberson at knology.net'; 'ptschley at mcsdga.net'; 'jphillips at mcsdga.net'; 
'dparker at mcsdga.net'; 'gse at hatcherstubbs.com'; 'kpjones at mcsdga.net'
Subject: Baker - A plea from a former student who attended 1st, 2nd and 12th 
grade at Baker

Ladies & Gentlemen:

I am writing this note to share some of the memories I have of Baker. 
Notice, I did not say Baker High, just Baker.

Why do I say Baker and not Baker High?

When I was a youngster, my family lived in Baker Village. I attended 1st 
grade at Baker in 1949-1950 when Mr. Patterson was Superintendent and Mrs. 
A. L. McKnight was my teacher.  No one in my life has ever had the influence 
on my life as that wonderful woman!

I attended 2nd grade at Baker in 1950-51.  My teacher was Ms. Frances 
Rackley and the Principal was E. W. Cook. I lived in Apt 5C on Ft Benning 
Road.

I attended third grade at a Catholic School in Columbus, the 4th grade at 
the Children's School at Ft Benning, then went on to Oklahoma for the 5th 
grade, to Gary, Indiana for the 6th grade, for the 7th and 8th grade to 
Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii.  I can recall going to 9th grade at 
Sylvan High School in Atlanta; to Walter F George High in Atlanta; and to 
Columbus High School for the 11th grade.

After all the intervening years, our family came "home" to Columbus and Ft 
Benning.  For my senior year, I attended Baker in 1961-62.  I walked back 
down the halls of time, going from the office to the classrooms at the far 
end of the building (near the Baker Village end) and turned left at the 
corner and I found myself in the exact same hallway I walked as a 1st and 
second grader!   In fact, my senior class home room was in the same 
classroom I had back in the early '50's as a first or second grader! The 
desks had been changed, but the blackboards were still at the height they 
were in the 1st and 2nd grade! I made a concerted effort to visit with Mrs. 
McKnight when my Dad was re-assigned to Ft. Benning and I am glad I did. She 
remembered me, my Mom and my Dad.

Our family moved throughout the years as my Dad's assignments took us to 
Indiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Hawaii and back to Ft, Benning.  When my Dad 
retired at Ft Benning, we left for his new life in Florida.  I thought I 
would never see Baker again.  I was able to come back when I was drafted and 
sent to Ft Benning for processing as a new inductee.  I remember vividly all 
the sights and sounds of our family's home town and recall passing Baker on 
the way to the airport to be flown to Ft Riley, KS for basic training.

I came back to Columbus in 1966 for OCS.  I visited Baker and the main 
street down by the river in Columbus.  I was stationed at Ft Benning as a 
young second lieutenant before leaving for two tours in Vietnam.  After 
leaving the service, I did not return to Columbus until just before my Dad 
passed away when I took a long ride back to see where we lived, where I went 
to school.  I wanted to be sure I could find my way around and see all the 
things that were important memories of a wonderful Army Brat childhood.

In 2006 I returned to Ft Benning with the youngest of my four daughters, 
Kendra, and we visited Baker and the old apartment 5C on Benning Road. My 
daughter was amazed by the sight of the school and my stories of my 
elementary and senior years at Baker.  She was totally taken by the 
experience of driving thru Baker Village and walking thru the long-ago 
abandoned apartment 5C on Benning Road.

When we visited she asked what was what was going to happen to Baker. Would 
it, she asked, be abandoned like the old apartment or torn down?  From the 
eyes of a 12 year old there seemed to be so many things that could be done 
with that wonderful old school.  She talked many times since about what 
could be done....all the while realizing money would be an important factor 
in any decision about what could be done with Baker.

Please, take these fond memories and our earnest plea to help save Baker. We 
will work with you to help make this a reality.  Please vote to reverse the 
decision and remove the facility from the surplus property list if you can.  
The most important objective is to save the building and make it as 
productive and as important in the lives of those in your community today as 
it was in my life as a child and as it is today as a Dad with a new family 
working hard to instill the values of what real treasures are in their young 
minds!

Charles Haag
(704) 651-5252 Cell

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