Life and character of William Taylor Baker, president of the World's Columbian exposition and of the Chicago Board of trade (1908) (14761899936)

Identifier: lifecharacterof00bake (find matches)
Title: Life and character of William Taylor Baker, president of the World's Columbian exposition and of the Chicago Board of trade
Year: 1908 (1900s)
Authors: Baker, Charles H. (Charles Hinckley), b. 1864
Subjects: Baker, William Taylor, 1841-1903 Electric power-plants
Publisher: New York, The Premier press
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress



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ted and happy disposition. He was also abad boy when he wanted to be but only to a degreemade necessary by the fact that he was a boy. TheBaptist Church stands next to his mothers house. Itdid then and it does now, although the little old woodenone has given place to a new one of brick. BillyBaker as they called him had grown rich enough inhis own right and through his small earnings at oddtimes to own a powerful pistol. With this he shot holesthrough the walls of the church, and the bombard-ment caused the plaster to fall on the pulpit and inthe pews, and prompted his mother to whip him untilhe was humble enough to beg forgiveness from thepreacher. And then again at one time he issued adeclaration of independence in favor of himself andagainst home and mother, and apprenticed himselfout to be a carpenter until the time of his majority,which was only a dozen of years ahead. But he wasnot long at work in his chosen profession before hesaw his father coming down the road in the distance
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Cobble Stone School House, West Wtxfield. BOYHOOD LIFE IN WEST WINFIELD 19 wearing a stern look and a strap which meant alicking, so he deserted his new master and went backhome by a round about way. He did not apprenticehimself out again. It was natural enough that heshould have gravitated to a carpenters shop, for hewas clever with his hands and could whittle skillfullywith his jackknife, and do other things which he likedto do. He could build little railroads around in hismothers garden, shaping up the earth into miniaturerailroad grades, crossing little imaginary rivers onbridges and running his lines under the current bushesfor forests and through tunnels under hand mademountains. Construction operations came natural tohim at that time. So also was trading, and his jack-knife was apt to be a better one than the one he tradedoff for it. Even when a grown man he liked to workwith tools and study plans and watch construction,and this instinct, together with his liking and aptitudefo