Captain James A. Baker of Houston, 1857-1941

Foreword

xiii  As a child growing up in Houston, I was consistently reminded of my grandfather. I could not go very far in my hometown without seeing places that had been touched by his guiding hand. Close to my childhood home on Bissonnet Street was Rice University, which Captain Bakerplayedacriticalroleinestablishing.WhenIwentdowntowntosee a movie or go to church, I would pass by buildings he had helped finance. And when I played tennis, I often did so at the Houston Country Club, which benefitted from his early direction. Houston in the first half of the twentieth century was built by towering individuals like Jesse Jones and Will Hogg. As the head of the city’s premier law firm, the founding chairman of Rice University, and a leader in Houston’s banking industry, Captain Baker defined integrity. These iconic figures envisioned Houston as a great city and worked throughout their lifetimes to make that dream come true. From my earliest memories, I was surrounded by the product of my grandfather’s energy. Of course, being the captain’s grandson came with certain responsibilities . It meant living up to high expectations when it came to hard work, to seriousness, to toughness, and to fairness. Grandfather was a man of genuine authority who maintained a dogged determination to achieve the aspirations that he established for himself, for his family, and for his city. And if I didn’t always appreciate the example that Captain Baker set, my father, James A. Baker Jr., and my mother, Bonner Means Baker, were there to remind me of it—not only while he was alive, but also long after he passed away on August 2, 1941. I can’t remember how many times they looked me squarely in the eye and said, “Jimmy, you have quite a legacy to live up to.” As a result, it is especially rewarding for me to read this book that Kate Kirkland has written about my grandfather. She discovered parts of his rich history that I never knew, and some that I have long forgotten. Kirkland explains Captain Baker’s role in the creation of Memorial Park. She recounts how Captain Baker helped his wife, Alice Graham Baker, establish the Houston Settlement Association, a volunteer organization that Foreword James A. Baker, III book TAM Kirkland.indb xiii book TAM Kirkland.indb xiii 5/30/12 2:47 PM 5/30/12 2:47 PM  xiv foreword today is known as Neighborhood Centers Inc. And she includes the text of the very last letter that Captain Baker wrote before he died—a letter which he sent to me when I was only eleven years old, after I had passed my swimming test at a Texas Hill Country summer camp. Kirkland’s book, Captain James A. Baker of Houston, 1857–1941, is a well-researched biography of a man whom, as she writes, “men and women turned to when they wanted a project to succeed.” But Kirkland’s book is much more than the tale of an influential man. It is a story about Houston during the first half of the twentieth century, when the foundation was laid for its transformation into the international powerhouse that it is today. Perhaps most importantly, it is a story that provides a lesson about what it took, and still takes, to create a great community. As she writes, “Captain Baker lived in an era when loyalty to friends and family, courtesy to others, and duty to community defined a successful life. He searched for excellence because he wanted to do his best for those who relied on him.” The legacy of Captain Baker and the other civic titans of his era is an important one because they were just as concerned with building a great city as they were with amassing great fortunes. By preserving the history of Captain James A. Baker, Kate Kirkland has done a real service to the memory of the man and the city he loved so much. book TAM Kirkland.indb xiv book TAM Kirkland.indb xiv 5/30/12 2:47 PM 5/30/12 2:47 PM Captain James A. Baker of Houston, 1857–1941 book TAM Kirkland.indb xv book TAM Kirkland.indb xv 5/30/12 2:47 PM 5/30/12 2:47 PM book TAM Kirkland.indb xvi book TAM Kirkland.indb xvi 5/30/12 2:47 PM 5/30/12 2:47 PM ...