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For the nine Baker children, ages 2 to 13, 1962 began tragically and ended triumphantly — not unlike the first Christmas in more than 2,000 years.
The disaster occurred on January 12, a snowy Friday night. Although they are comfortable and safe in their home Battle Lake, MinnesotaTheir mother and father, Walter and Regina, were out drinking and driving, in that deadly order.
It was a single car accident on a cold, lonely road. There were no eyewitnesses, but we know that Mrs. Baker, who was driving, lost control of the pickup truck. I rolled over, tossing them both. They choked to death in the snow.
2024: Reclaiming Christmas: Living Biblical Love
Without a will, their nine children were placed in foster homes – various homes in the area. As hype makes news and tragedy travel fast, the Baker Nine's plight and heartbreak has become a national concern.
“The Baker Nine” in 1962. LR: Loretta Baker, Susan Baker, Sally Jo Myers, Jim Myers, Gerald Baker, Jeffrey Baker, Theresa Baker, Karen Myers, Timothy Baker, Pauline Baker, Monica Jo Baker, Philip Baker , held by Jan, the new mother.
More than 1,300 miles away Charlotte, North CarolinaDon and Jan Myers were reading about the horrific accident. However, it was one sentence in the story that caught them and wouldn't let go:
A neighbor told the reporter: “The children will not stay together.”
“Children need fathers,” a defiant Gene told Don, “and if these children are put into this world together, they need to stay together.” “We need children. We want these children.”
This is where the many layers and divine twists of the story begin to emerge.
With two biological daughters, the Myers had previously adopted three boys, two of whom were twins. When the twin sons died in a drowning, the Rev. J. Paul Brion of St. Gabriel's Church in Charlotte reached out to help. Sometimes grief can open previously closed hearts, and that's exactly what happened. The Myers family is over, grateful for the love and support Conversion to Catholicism.
So, after seeing the Bakers' story, Don Myers contacted his parish priest, Fr. Brion, who contacted Monsignor Michael J. Begley of Catholic Charities in Raleigh. The monsignor then contacted Catholic Charities in St. Cloud, Minnesota, which was managing Baker's case.
“There is a place here in our home and in our hearts,” Don Myers said at the time. “God has blessed me with a generous income. I can spend the money on raising the children. It is a small return for the blessings you have given us.”
It has become increasingly old-fashioned to view children as blessings, priceless gifts. Instead, modern culture often views children as expensive burdens to be avoided. This narrow-mindedness not only deprives families of fun and enjoyment, but also threatens our very existence. This is because societies die when couples do not marry and have children.
The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem was the most famous of all, and far from the ideal picture depicted on cards or sung in hymns. (Istock)
The Baker Nine arrived and met their new parents at the Charlotte airport on December 17, 1962. There were lots of smiles and hugs. The love was new but real. That would make for good Hallmark Christmas movie If this is where the story ended, it's actually where it began.
Monica Harps, who was just two years old when her parents died and three when she arrived at the Myers Hotel, remembers the plane ride. “It was very exciting,” she told me. Monica, along with her husband, Ed, now runs the Harps Family Farm in Mattituck on the North Fork of Long Island. The Myers “ran a tight ship with a lot of rules and a lot of structure,” she says.
The crew of 13 brothers settled into a familiar if not difficult rhythm and routine. Their mother was a seamstress, and she stayed at home to raise the children. They attended parochial school. Everything was fine until tragedy struck again in 1969 when their adoptive mother died of lupus.
“The family exploded,” Monica admitted. “Our father remarried. There were other children. There was favoritism. We all started going our separate ways.” At the age of fourteen, Monica moved to New York to live with her sister Pauline and her new husband. Those were difficult years.
But that was only because she moved on New York That she met her lover, Ed. It was Ed who led Monica to the Lord, who led her to all other good things. They have four sons, four daughters and nine grandchildren.
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“Over the years, I had to forgive,” she recalled. “But we all have to walk through forgiveness. Our family story is a redemptive story. It's kind of messy, but so is life.”
On December 17th, as they do every year, the original Bakers (two of whom have since died) reached out by phone or group text to remember and commemorate that dramatic and pivotal day in 1962. And it is no coincidence To coincide with Christmas. .
This is because The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem It was the most popular adoption ever, and far from the ideal picture drawn on cards or sung in hymns.
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It's a gritty story – an unwed mother, an adoptive father, and a child born into filth far from fame and fortune, in a broken world with a king who feels threatened and wants to kill the child.
Christmas reminds us that life, like adoption, is unpredictable, often messy, and even mysterious, but still beautiful. It shows us that a child (or 9 of them!) can change everything for the better – and not just for one day, but every day, forever.
