Baker is volunteerism at its best – community involvement extraordinaire – human generosity at its grandest!  Let me begin with Parker – volunteer director of this small, one T-bar hill tucked away in the hills of North-Central Maine in a charming lakeside town of Moscow.  As of mid-February, when Katie and I visited Baker, Parker had already volunteered 300 hours of his time to this community hill – when was the last time you volunteered 300 hours in one year – let alone give this many hours over three months.

To this inspiring institution of a local community effort, add a generous sprinkling of town contributions.  Yes, in order to pay the ever-growing insurance costs that would otherwise close this shiny nugget of community activism, several of the neighboring town contributed enough to pay keep it open this last winter.  This wonderful story does not stop here!

Sure enough Kate and I were running late due to our new friends we left at Squaw but when I called Parker’s house (as he had told Heather from Ski Maine to do whenever we were ready) his wife Shelly said they were expecting us, gave me great directions and then drove from their home to meet us in the late Friday afternoon.  No sooner had we arrived then their pick-up pulled up right behind and out came these warm smiles, outstretched hands and generous hearts – complete with their young son Brady.  Now you name another ski area that gives that kind of service.  Wait there is more!

After chatting with Parker and his family (they felt like old friends in minutes) we offered to climb the hill but Parker insisted that he start the T-bar just for us – now that is service.  But first he had to move the snowmobile that was parked in the lift-loading zone and with a quick throw of the switch; he had that strong steel cable in motion, pulling T-bars (really inverted Ts – I could never understand the name) and two happy siblings up this graceful hill.  Imagine that – lift service on demand – much better than movies on demand!

Now Baker cannot afford snow making so we snaked our way up the partly melted lift track and crammed our mandatory 50 turns into a short run down the hill.  There we were again greeted by Parker and his gang which had now expanded to a half dozen friends and Baker enthusiasts.  We shed our skis, took a few photos and then got a tour of the lodge that felt more like a clubhouse.  They had ski rentals for a few dollars a day, food at bake sale prices and a central wood stove with plenty of room for sitting and storytelling.  Outside we went (we had to make it to Kingsfield tonight and the light was waning) to say our goodbyes where we witnessed yet another act of selflessness.  Upon offering $30 to help with operating costs and having to overcome much resistance on their behalf we once again saw into their heart.  They would accept the money on one condition, only if they could use it for six, five-dollar scholarships ($5 is the daily fee) for some of the local kids who could not afford the costs.