GEORGE M. BAKER.-Perhaps there are few residents of Hall County who have
not heard of Woodland Park, which is situated in Washington township and
which, in its whole history and its present state of modern development, is
one of the most interesting homesteads of the county. It comprises one
hundred and sixty acres of valuable land which its owner, George M. Baker,
devotes largely to the breeding of Shorthorn cattle, Poland-China hogs and
Rhode Island Red chickens. On this farm will be the "Woodland Park
Association," with golf grounds, another evidence of the vast changes that
have taken place since the days of the early settlers. This is but one of
his valuable holdings. Among his properties are included two handsome
residences in Grand Island.
George M. Baker was born in La Salle County, Illinois, February 6, 1864,
while his father was foreman in large coal mines there. His parents were
Samuel and Elizabeth (Keegan) Baker, the former of whom was born in Germany
and the latter in Ireland. Samuel Baker spent almost all of his life in the
United States as he was only thirteen years old when he accompanied his
parents here. Unusual responsibilities fell upon him almost immediately as
his father died soon after landing, and the considerable amount of money
and jewels he had brought with him were stolen by unknown robbers while his
sorrowing relatives were attending his funeral. Samuel thus became the
family breadwinner while yet a boy. He found work on the boats plying on
the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and finally became second officer on a
large steamboat. His home was then established in the coal regions of La
Salle County, Illinois, where he was soon given a position of authority by
one of the big operating companies. In politics he was a Democrat. His wife
died in 1880 but he survived until June, 1915. Both were faithful members
of the Roman Catholic church. Of their seven children six are living, but
only two reside in Hall County, George M. and Hubert, the latter making his
home in Grand Island.
After securing a good common school education in La Salle County, George M.
Baker started in life as a traveling salesman for a farm implement house,
with which he remained three years, and then, in the same capacity, went
out for the well known Omaha grocery firms of McCord & Brady and Allen
Brothers, traveling continuously for these firms for twenty-five years and
two days, retiring from a quarter century of service in this line with a
record of never having lost a day. In the meanwhile he had been prudent in
his expenditures and when he was ready to turn his attention into other
channels of business, he found himself with abundant capital. He found a
satisfactory investment in the First Bank of Cestos, Oklahoma, of which he
was vice president for five years. He sold his interest and bought lands
and livestock in Nebraska, Oklahoma and Idaho, much of which he still
controls. He has two farms of one hundred and sixty acres each, in
Oklahoma, which have been brought to the highest possible state of
cultivation. His present farm in Hall County is the old Windolph property,
which he purchased from his father-in-law at the time of his marriage. It
has pleased him to give it the beautiful name of Woodland Park, and here he
and Mrs. Baker spend the greater part of the year, notwithstanding two
comfortable residences await their occupancy in Grand Island. Mr. Baker
intends to transform the farm into a dairy farm to be known as "Woodland
Park Dairy." For some time he has not given personal attention to any of
his land except a few acres, the cultivation of which gives him pleasant
exercise, but all its industries are carefully overlooked, for Mr. Baker
has been a keen and discerning business man for many years.
On April 15, 1819, Mr. Baker married Miss Catherina Windolph, one of a
family of eight children born to Adam and Margaretta (Stender) Windolph,
both of whom were natives of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Baker have three
children: Lillian, the wife of Charles Thirifay, of Omaha; Margaretta
Walburga, the wife of Joseph Power, of Grand Island; and Marie C., employed
in the First National Bank, Grand Island.
In 1864 the parents of Mrs. Baker came to the United States, and after
living in New York for one year, came west as far as Kankakee, Illinois, a
few months later moving to Belle Plaine in Benton County, Iowa. Six months
later Adam Windolph bought a wagon and team of horses and started with his
family on the long journey to Hall County. When they reached Columbus they
discovered that there was not bridge and hence had to cross on the ice,
also being delayed in many other ways they finally landed here, on April 1,
1866, having spent four weeks on the road. Mr. Windolph homesteaded in
Washington township and Mrs. Baker still has the patent from the United
States government for this farm. Adam Windolph was a practical, farseeing
man and when he built his log house he built for the future and so
substantially that the present attractive residence still includes a
portion of the old log house plastered with clay. Seemingly no one could
have a better right or reason to take pleasure in the beautiful surrounding
grounds with luxuriant shade trees than Mrs. Baker, for it was with her own
hands that many of these trees were set out and she and her sisters kept
them alive with the water they had to carry a full half mile. She has only
one sister in the county, Mrs. Hubert Baker, of Grand Island.
Mrs. Baker's reminiscences of early days here are exceedingly interesting,
as in vivid language she tells of the old California trail and of Indians,
of social customs and of the lack of entertainment in her childhood days.
To the latter she subscribes her sometimes following the emigrant wagons as
they passed by on the trail a few feet before her father's fence on down to
the fort, a few rods away where they stopped for provisions, and then about
a mile still further to Mr. Michelson's blacksmith shop, where she could
not fail being interested in seeing Mrs. Michelson, a very small woman,
help with the shoeing of the horses and oxen, leather pads being attached
to the latter's feet. No doubt she often looked wonderingly after the
goldseeker's wagons as they passed into the mysterious West, where hung the
rainbow of hope, and probably saw many of the travelers go by again, no
richer than before. Educational advantages were very limited at this early
day. Mrs. Baker recalls how they finally secured a teacher, and she was
able to attend school a half day a week. In a rather lonely childhood, the
semi-annual coming of the Indians with their furs and moccasins to exchange
for eatables was a great event and many times she joined the dark children
in their play and helped them gather the leaves and bark of the kinnikinick
(a kind of dogwood) bushes, which the Indians dried and smoked. Mr. and
Mrs. Baker are members of the Cattholic (sic) church. He is a Republican in
politics but has never accepted any public office.
