Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, June 18, 1954

A farewell dinner was held for Mr. and Mrs. Horace K. BAKER, of Beaconsfield, at the Beaconsfield Methodist church on Sunday, June 7. They are leaving their farm home and moving to their new home in Afton.

The BAKER fram has been a landmark in Monroe township for fifty years. Mr. BAKER, who was selected as a Master Farmer in 1930, has introduced a number of new farming methods, which are now common practice. He was one of the first farmers in southern Iowa to use lime to build up his soil, to use a tractor for cultivation, and to use hybrid corn.

Mr. BAKER has been a member of the Ringgold County Farm Bureau since 1919. He has served as a leader in demonstrating improved farm practices for the county extension service. Mr. BAKER has accepted responsibility for community leadership, serving as a trustee of the Methodist church and in many other positions of leadership for the church and as president of the school board of the Consolidated school of Beaconsfield.

Mrs. BAKER has taken an active role in church and community life. She has served as a 4-H club leader, as president of the Ladies' Aid Society of the church and has taught a Sunday school class for 45 years. Mrs. BAKER was a school teacher before she moved to Beaconsfield. She has generously used her time and knowledge to helping children in the community, who have had particular difficulty in arithmetic, spelling and other subjects. She has done much to interest high school graduates to attend college and to continue in college work.

The BAKER children, Raymond and Gladys, absorbed their parents' interest in education and the perseverane in it. Raymond has managed the corn breeding program of the Pioneer Hybrid Corn Company since 1941. He is a vice-president of the company. His hybrid corn was grown on the home farm in the summer of 1926 when he was a sophomore at Iowa State College [present-day Iowa State University, at Ames]. Gladys chose the work of the "County Agricultural Agent," as the subject of her thesis for the PhD degree. The thesis was published by the Univeristy of Chicago, where she received her degree in political science. Gladys is now continuing research for the United Sates Department of Agriculture.

Although Mr.a nd Mrs. H. K. BAKER are moving to Afton, the farm will continue to be operated by a BAKER. He is Lee Raymond BAKER, a grandson. The other grandson, Lawrence Holland BAKER, is studying poultry husbandry at Iowa State College. His special interest in the development of hybrid chickens. The mother of these two boys, Mrs. Raymond BAKER, was Mildred HOLLAND, of Beaconsfield, before her marriage in 1928 to Raymond BAKER. Her interest has been in the home, music and club work.

The H. K. BAKERS arrived in Beaconsfield fifty years ago in a single buggy, having traveled thiry miles from their home in Clearfield, Iowa. They spent nearly half a day on the road. Symbolic of the changes which have occurred during their fifty years' residence in Beaconsfield is that the move to Afton, a distance of 22 miles, will take less than half an hour's time. This change in transportation will mke it possible for them to make frequent visits to Beaconsfield, and for friends and relatives to visit with them frequently.

The newly-married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Lee BAKER, will continue the progressive farming which has been carried out on the home place for half a century.

We will miss them very much, but we hope they will be very happy in their new home.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, October of 2012