Inspiring story
Thank you for the front-page article about Neal Baaker. It was so encouraging to learn of his journey to the United States, trials, hard work and ultimate success as a businessman. I decided to visit his nursery which resulted in a phone call. While his Wichita Greenhouse is closed for the season, I told him I enjoyed reading the article about him in The Active Age newspaper, and his gratefulness with the statements, “But I am proud to be an American. This is the best country in the world.”
His reply was, “I meant that with all my heart.”
May many of us be inspired by his gratefulness, hard work and positive attitude. His statements “I would like to see people be proud to be an American. Many people feel like the U.S. owes them something, but it doesn’t. You have to work to be successful,” should be inspirational to all of us.
I plan to visit his business when it opens in the spring!
Gretchen Fox, Valley Center
One-room memories
We always enjoy reading the variety of articles in The Active Age newspaper. I especially enjoyed your story on one-room schoolhouses. I attended a one-room school, Cooper School in Harper County, in 1942 when I entered first grade. I went there for three years before it was closed for lack of students. The last year it was open we only had 6 students total in all eight grades. We were then transferred to a two-room school. Our one-room school had electricity, a potbelly stove and two outhouses, but no running water. It was a great experience and I have many fond memories.
Jeanie Tade, Wichita
