In 1948 I was a whopping six years old and started school at Sandy Ridge Grade School, which is no longer a school.  During my first grade years, we moved to Douglas County. 

My first home in Douglas County was located at the gates of Mt. Scott.  We lived in a tent house on the banks of Hinkle Creek.  I had to walk quite aways to catch the school bus.  My mother always said she knew if I got a ride to the bus stop, by how soon my dog came back home.  The loggin' trucks, and the secretary for Roseburg Lumber Company, were the ones that usually picked me up and gave me a ride to "Fords Camp" (a logging community that worked for Pappy Ford.) That's where I caught the bus.  From there I was taken to Nonpareil school.  This was a one building, two room county school.  The 1st through 3rd grades were in one room and the 4th through 6th grade were in the other room.  My teacher was Maggie Smith.  We called her Miss Maggie.  All the grades higher than the sixth, were bussed to Sutherlin Jr. High School.

Before I started the second grade, we moved to a house closer to town (Sutherlin).  We lived just East of town.  We only lived there long enough for us to build a house on some land about 3 miles east of town. We lived there for several years.  In fact, my dad sold the property after he got re-married following my mother's death in 1977.

I spent most of my summers staying at my Grandmother German's house outside of Sandy, on the Boring mail route.  I picked various kinds of berries.  I did this since I was 6 yrs old.  Kids can't do this anymore!  What a shame, cause I earned pretty good money.  As I got older, I did other things such as picking up potatoes, cutting broccoli, and hoeing the berry fields.

The summers I didn't spend at my grandma's house, we camped out in the woods up the North Umpqua River Basin.  My dad was a logger, and we camped out near where he was working.  Much of the trees he cut was for road right-of-way.  That was lots of fun.  We did lots of hiking and exploring. 

I learned to drive up there in the woods on the old trails and loggin' roads.  As my dad always tells everyone, my cousin and I were forever wrapping the old crummy we learned to drive on around the trees.  A crummy is a van type vehicle that carries several passengers, that was used to haul the loggin' crews to the job site.

With my education completed, I graduated from Sutherlin High School in May of 1960.

I spent the summer after graduation at my Grandmother German's house in Boring.  I was going to wait for a friend, and we were going to join the WAC's together.  After a year, I got tired of waiting for her, and joined the Women's Army Corps. 

I was stationed at Ft. McClellan, Alabama, for my basic training.  From there I went to Ft. Sam Houston for Mecical training.  I was learning to be a dental assistant!..  After learning all about the medical field, I was sent to Ft. Leonard Wood, MO.  (In those days it was referred to as "Little Korea").  I spent the rest of my tour of duty at Ft. Leonard Wood. 

After getting out of the WAC's, I went to the employment div. for help in finding a job.  They decided I needed some training as a dental assistant.  They were just starting up some new training.  They had a dental assistant program they were starting in conjunction with Blue Mountain Community College.  Well, I attended that program for a school year.  I learned all about working as a dental assistant!  Whew, don't know what I would have done without all that training!  I even took a state certification test in the field.  I passed, so all I needed to do was work for 2 years in the field, and I would be state certified.  Guess what!  I never did work for two years in the field, so I remained uncertified.  Oh well.  I still have a license that says I can take dental x-rays.  Bet by this time, I forgot more than I ever learned.

Well, as time went by, I got into the wastewater field.  I was an operator for water and wastewater treatment.  It's not everyone that can claim to have taken care of everyone's [#`!%=*!] in town!  He-he, butt it's true.

I've done a bit of everything in the field.  I've operated both water and wastewater plants, ran lab tests, added chemicals when necessary, performed maintenance and perventive maintenance, kept accurate records, layed both water lines and sewer lines, repaired leaks, read water meters, and took care of complaints.  As a city superintendant, I've hired and fired personnel, ordered supplies, and much, much more. You can see I've been as busy as a beaver!  My last job was in chemical wastewater at Forest Grove, OR.  (We removed chemicals such as iron, nickel, copper, gold, etc., from the wastewater, before it went to the municipal wastewater plant.)

Throughout the years, I also managed to have five children.  I have 3 boys and 2 girls.  Joel David Baker, the oldest boy, was born 18 Apr 1964.  Carla Daylene Baker, the oldest girl, was born 8 Nov 1966. Tonia Denys Baker, the youngest girl joined us on 16 Jul 1969.  Then 10 years later on 8 Jun 79, we were blessed with twin boys, Adam John and Paul James Mohlsick.

I started falling apart, so I am on Social Security Disability.  (Really I have degenerative disc failure, and three leaking valves in my heart).

I had contacted Roxy to see if I could link her Oregon pages to my HomePage.  She wanted to know how I found her, then she twisted my arm so I would join this wonderful group of people at AHLN.  It was over a year ago, I think, but my arm still hurts!  She is great at persuasion!

So, here I am.