Interview with Squire Baker, July 22, 1993

Interview Summary

Squire Baker, born March 18th 1911, discusses his childhood and adulthood on the Baker family farm. Baker talks about growing up on the farm as a child. His father raised corn, oats, cattle, horses, mules, and sheep. His mother cooked, cleaned, and churned the milk from their milk cows into butter. Baker's early employment consisted of several teaching jobs and a one-year stint in the Civilian Conservation Corps. Baker joined the military after Pearl Harbor. During the war his bomber was shot down and he spent 520 days in a concentration camp. When Baker finally returned home he became a county clerk and worked there for the next 35 years, never teaching or doing military service again. Baker discusses the many changes his farm and his community have undergone over the years.

Interview Keyword

Heritage farms World War II Livestock Land grants--Kentucky Corn

Interview LC Subject

Agriculture--Kentucky Agriculture. Crops Family farms Farm life. Traditional farming Oneida (Ky.) Inheritance and succession.

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.