About 15 months ago I made a trip to the Northwest, stopping in motels in Moscow, Lewiston, Walla Walla, then camping a night at Anthony Lake. Moscow was nice but too expensive. My only income the past 8+ years has been Social Security. An old friend of mine in Boise suggested I look at Baker. I was intrigued by how friendly and decent people were here, and I contacted a Realtor. I came back in October to see available homes, leaving with an accepted offer for a small old home on Church Street. Just after Christmas I moved in some of my personal things.

Since then I have mostly lived at my defunct business in Salt Lake. I rented this space for 45 years. I came back last February with a U-Haul truck full of the remainder of my personal belongings. My President’s Day bus back to Salt Lake didn’t come and I-84 was closed in both directions. I got the bus the next day and caught omicron in the unventilated space. I am very healthy and only had one day feeling horrible.

My problem was that I had a shop full of items with inherent value: a lot of tubing and fittings, electrical wire, electrical and fluid controls and valves, motors, pumps, tools, basic machine tools, SS sinks, etc. I also got back 30 systems that Intermountain Health Care had used in hospitals and clinics for purifying tapwater for use in kidney dialysis. Almost all still worked but the provider was forced to buy other equipment because I couldn’t comply with all the crap from the FDA. Fortunately this equipment can be adapted for other uses. I would get pennies on the dollar trying to sell all this equipment in Salt Lake. So I had to move it to Baker.

Thus I am renting very basic warehouse space in Baker, an unheated space without water or sewer. I had to pay a moving company $11,500 to fill a 53-foot trailer with the bulk of work items. They wanted $4,500 to unload in Baker but I followed Whit Deschner’s suggestion and contacted the Baker Bulldogs football coach. Nine players and the coach unloaded the trailer in about 2.5 hours. It was a win-win situation since I made a $1,500 donation to Baker football and they earned more than $60 per man-hour.

Recently I had the basic machine tools moved to Baker, costing $7,500. I bought all these items, used, in 1991. An American Bridgeport mill, an Italian lathe, an Austrian metal band saw. They are all 3-phase and in very good condition.

The day after my last arrival here, I fell on the ice, catty corner from the Maverik. I wasn’t hurt, but my bifocal glasses broke on one side by the hinge. Seconds later someone from the Sinclair across the street came and walked with me back to my house.

My planned last trip to SLC began Dec. 18. Because of poor decision-making, my 23-year-old Toyota Sienna van’s engine died in Mountain Home. My Boise friend put me up and I had a very good Christmas experience. I took the bus back to Baker on Dec. 27.

I also own a 2008 Prius which was in the warehouse. It has a 12-volt sealed lead acid battery which dies after weeks of disuse. I can recharge the battery enough with a small lithium battery Nextec battery pack, which I bought from Sears years ago, to start the car.

So the other day I went to O’Reilly’s and ordered a battery which was stocked in La Grande. I had bought the same battery from them two months ago. They called me at 7:40 a.m. and said that someone had dropped off the battery at the Baker store. For complex technical issues, my 2-month-old battery is now working, but I paid a premium for the new O’Reilly battery and it will be stored in the Prius if needed.

Overall I am so pleased with the citizens of Baker it makes me cry. I have met with three good neighbors and only encountered one nasty person. I love interacting with others at the Senior Center lunches.

Civilization is collapsing worldwide and the future will be very difficult. I moved here not knowing a soul but I plan to contribute all I can to the community. I think I finally found a place where I can thrive.

Stephen Carmichael Carr

Baker City