The Yellow Springs woman writes of the Yellow Springs man

Jane Baker will read from her recently published biography of William Mills on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 2 p.m., at the Senior Center.

By Lauren Heaton

When Jane Baker was thinking of moving to Yellow Springs in 1969, she thought that doing research on the town’s founder could earn her both a master’s degree and insight on the character of the village. What she learned was that Yellow Springs suited her so well that 38 years later she is living out the legacy of founder William Mills and finally publishing the thesis that led her here.

As much as William Mills was known as “The Yellow Springs Man,” so might Jane Baker be called “The Yellow Springs Woman.” In 1840 Mills had a vision for a town that would, because of his efforts, get a railroad line, a progressive Christian college, and a distinctive streetscape design. It was a town that 150 years later would attract residents like Baker, an artist and independent thinker who plays an active role in making this small community rumble.

Baker will give a short reading and signing of her biography, William Mills: The Yellow Springs Man, on Sunday, Sept. 23, at the Senior Center, beginning at 2 p.m. The book was published by her own Wild Goose Press, at the instigation of the Yellow Springs Historical Society members, whose organized campaign to publicly heckle Baker until she published won them the opportunity to fund a project they felt was important for the whole village. Funding was provided through a grant from the Yellow Springs Community Foundation, of which Baker is a member, and all the proceeds will benefit the historical society.

The Mills biography is “a cool book,” according to historical society member Steve Deal, who said it was “scary” that there was formerly just one copy of Baker’s manuscript about one of the village’s most influential figures. The story of Judge Mills is also compelling because he “went to the mat” to create his vision and, having achieved most of it, plus a mansion on the grounds still known as Mills Lawn, he lost it all. Mills died here as a laborer and is buried at Glen Forrest Cemetery.

Baker’s first impression after rereading her thesis for the first time in many years: “Hmm, this is not so bad.” While she did not find any new research to add to her book, Baker did find some photos at Antiochiana of Mills and the village to add to the final layout. Her style, and the style she sticks to with almost all of her publications, is spare and focused on clarity.

“My intention is to have it clean, with a lot of white space,” she said.

Baker says she has been publishing basically since kindergarten, when she began to hone her skills as the newsletter writer, and later yearbook editor and finally university editor of publications at Wright State University. Her love of words and history became apparent to her boss, who urged her to complete her thesis. After divorcing her first husband and moving to the village with her daughter, Sidney Hill, whose rebellious tendency to challenge authority, even hers, Baker thoroughly approved of, she wrote the Mills biography. The move brought her future husband, Bill Baker, former English literature professor and dean of liberal arts at Wright State, to Yellow Springs and became the best move of her life, she said.

Baker has used her skills in editing and graphic design to publish dozens of books by local authors, including four studies of hat history by costume designer Debbie Henderson, the photos of former Antioch College professor Irwin Inman, t-ball stories by Coach Jimmy Chesire, and more recently Antioch: An Episodic History by Antioch University Archivist Scott Sanders. Her biggest publication was the Diaries of Bishop Milton Wright, father of Orville and Wilbur and the university’s namesake. She is currently working on Joan Horn’s biography of Antioch music professor Walter Anderson and a history of the Civil War Brigade by former Yellow Springs resident Mark Bernstein.

Baker makes very little profit on her work, but she likes giving local authors an opportunity to publish their own books. And her skills have great value for the rest of the community, as she has copy edited and published the Antioch Review since 1975, and is also a founding member of Chamber Music Yellow Springs, whose season brochures she publishes every year.

Being a product of as much as a part of Yellow Springs, Baker’s artistic sense lead her to design and remodel her own home on Phillips Street with her late husband Bill Baker, who said when they moved here that if you scratch the sidewalk in Yellow Springs a poet or an artist would jump out. Jane Baker decided to increase the truth of that statement by learning to play the cello after much prodding by Pat Olds, a fellow board member of the Early Music Center. After three lessons, Baker, then 40 years old, performed “Fido and His Master” in a recital with both pride and chagrin, and still plays today in a local chamber group.

At 73, Baker hardly has time to do the traveling she loves, to visit her relatives around Europe and Asia. She is heavily involved as a member of the Yellow Springs Arts Center Committee in helping to create a vision, not unlike the one that Mills had, for the revitalization of the village through the arts. Thanks to Mills, this time the vision is already ripe with potential.

Contact: lheaton@ysnews.com