Alton Baker

Alton Baker Alton F. "Bunky" Baker Jr. 1919 - 2014 Alton F. "Bunky" Baker Jr. passed away April 27 at age 94 of age-related causes. A public memorial service will be held at the Eugene Country Club at 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 18. Bunky Baker was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on Nov. 15, 1919, the eldest of five children born to Mildred and Alton Baker Sr. He graduated from University High School in Eugene in 1937 and from Pomona College in 1942. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps for four years during World War II. He married Genevieve Mertzke in Claremont, California on April 19, 1947, and they had four children. They were divorced in 1975. He married Jeannette Workman Vollstedt on Feb. 14, 1976 in Walker, Oregon. Bunky was quite an athlete, both in high school and college and into his later years. He played high school basketball, baseball and football. His football career ended suddenly when he tore up a knee attempting to field a punt in practice, despite his coach's admonition not to. Indeed, a bigger teammate barreled into Bunky, and the rest was history. Although he wrote right-handed, Bunky was a standout southpaw pitcher at Pomona College. Bunky was a quiet, often shy, but very determined husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, newspaperman and Eugenean. He cared deeply about his community, about Oregon, about good government and about the environment. He was a history major at Pomona, and was an avid reader of biographies of politicians, world statesmen and significant world events. Unfortunately, deteriorating eyesight caused by macular degeneration robbed him of that joy. Until a few months before his death, Bunky used the aid of a device that magnifies the type-size of printed material to read the front page and editorial pages of The Register-Guard. It was a rare day when Bunky didn't solve the newspaper's daily Jumble puzzle. He enjoyed an occasional crossword puzzle, too, but complained in his later years that the authors were using too many contemporary clues and answers for his taste. He dabbled in oil painting, concentrating primarily on desert vegetation and mountain-scapes. Of all the sports he enjoyed, golf was Bunky's favorite. His smooth, seemingly effortless swing was a thing of beauty. He was a member for more than 50 years of the Eugene Country Club, his favorite of the scores of courses he played throughout the western United States. He was also a member for more than 30 years at De Anza Country Club in Borrego Springs, California. In his prime, he was a two handicap and actually shot his age for 18 holes when he was 70, 71, 72 and 73. He had five holes-in-one in his lifetime. Bunky enjoyed simple pleasures as well. He had a sweet tooth, and anything chocolate agreed with him. His favorite dessert was vanilla ice cream smothered in chocolate sauce, and he rejected any other offerings if a sundae happened to be available. He enjoyed dogs and, over the years, owned many breeds, from Cocker Spaniels to Standard Poodles to Labradors. He often lamented that the purebreds caused too much havoc in the household. He favored rescue dogs, and the last dog he and his wife, Jeannette, owned was Emmy, a Cocker Spaniel who had only one eye. Bunky loved the outdoors, savoring Oregon's fresh air and clean water. He often remarked while traveling about town that "Eugene is a city of trees." He treasured a plaque given to him by a co-worker, which said, "It's Sure Hell Living in Oregon." He was an admirer of former Gov. Tom McCall who, like Bunky, was a quintessential journalist. Bunky often referred to McCall's famous 1971 quote about tourists visiting Oregon: "I urge them to come and come many, many times to enjoy the beauty of Oregon. But I also ask them, for heaven's sake, don't move here to live." Bunky devoted virtually his entire working career to making his community and The Register-Guard the best they could be. Along with his brother Edwin "Ted" Baker, Bunky for 40 years provided the leadership, working environment and encouragement to the staff of The Register-Guard that allowed them to produce journalism that readers around Lane County couldn't get elsewhere. Bunky joined the newspaper as a reporter in 1946, became managing editor in 1950 and was named editor and publisher in 1961. He became chairman and editor of the paper in 1982, when Edwin Baker succeeded him as publisher, and retired in 1986. He spent his remaining years wintering in the Southern California desert and spending summers in Eugene. Today, the newspaper is operated by the Baker family's third generation - editor and publisher Alton "Tony" Baker III is Bunky's son - and some fourth generation family members also work in the family business. There were a number of milestones in Bunky's newspaper career, but three stand out: - In 1959 Lane County Circuit Judge Frank Reid sued the Register-Guard for libel, based on a 1956 controversy over newspaper stories and editorials concerning "the administration of justice in Lane County." After a 14-day trial, a jury awarded Reid $5,000 in general damages (he had sought $100,000 in general damages and $100,000 in punitive damages), but the newspaper's owners felt vindicated when Reid left town after losing his judgeship in the next election. - In early 1956, Eugene voters were asked to approve bonds for a controversial hydroelectric project at the headwaters of the McKenzie River. The Beaver Marsh project was proposed by EWEB to add 30,000 kilowatts of peaking power to help address future needs of a growing community. After studying the issue for months - and spending considerable time hiking the project area with both proponents and opponents - Bunky wrote a lengthy editorial on the eve of the election advising voters to defeat the bond issue. Among other points, he argued that the project would irreparably damage the scenic and natural beauty of Clear Lake and dramatically reduce the flows of the magnificent Sahalie and Koosah falls. Voters defeated the measure. "For the next few weeks (after the election), people I knew well when I walked downtown wouldn't look me in the eye," Bunky often recalled, "but it was the right decision." - In 1966, the newspaper won the prestigious Missouri Honor Award for Distinguished Service in Journalism. At the time, The Register-Guard was the first small-city newspaper outside Missouri to win the honor, joining past winners such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Christian Science Monitor. Bunky is survived by his wife, Jeannette, and three of his siblings: Edwin "Ted" Baker (Marie), Dr. Herbert Baker and Richard Baker, all of Eugene. Other survivors include son Tony Baker (Wendy), daughters Susan McDonald and Sarah Baker, all of Eugene, and Robin O'Connor (Sean) of Red Oak, Texas; step-son Kurt Vollstedt of Eugene, and step-daughter Christy Vollstedt of Coos Bay; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; his sister Louise Little of Eugene; and his step-daughter, Mimi Vollstedt Ward. Published in the Eugene Register Guard May 4, 2014