{"id":304,"date":"2015-02-12T13:47:11","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T13:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/?page_id=304"},"modified":"2021-03-01T14:52:17","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T14:52:17","slug":"growing-up","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/course-syllabus\/growing-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing Up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Russell Baker\u2019s Pulitzer Prizer-winning\u00a0memoir of his Depression era childhood,\u00a0<em>Growing Up\u00a0<\/em>(1981) offers a wonderful gateway to study the period between 1900 and 1945. \u00a0There is no free online text for this book, but on this page, students will also find a map of key events with excerpts from the text as well as some additional resources featured below.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=zS0NgIMIUm5g.kbCrDFcZICuU\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Plot Summary<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Chapters 1 &#8211; 4:\u00a0<\/strong> Russell Baker opens his memoir by describing the challenges his mother is facing as she endures senility while recovering from a fall at a nursing home.\u00a0 Her living memories of the past then trigger his own memories of his childhood, which he begins to describe in great detail.\u00a0 However, Baker also pivots back to a reconstruction of his mother&#8217;s and father&#8217;s childhoods in early twentieth-century rural Virginia.\u00a0 He describes how they met and struggled to overcome various challenges as a young family.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chapters 5 &#8211; 9:\u00a0<\/strong> Baker describes the death of his father from diabetes in 1930 and how the tragic circumstances which then affected his mother and his sisters.\u00a0 Ultimately, Russell&#8217;s mother Lucy brought him and his younger sister Doris to Newark, NJ to live with her brother and his wife.\u00a0 This was in the heart of the Great Depression during the early 1930s.\u00a0 Russell describes life in New Jersey during this period, from his perspective as a child and also through the letters of his mother and her new boyfriend, Oluf.\u00a0 Eventually, Lucy Baker decides to follow one of her other brothers, Hal, to Baltimore, bringing Russell and Doris with her to start a new life on their own.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chapters 10-12:\u00a0<\/strong> The Bakers moved to Baltimore in 1937, and almost immediately their personal circumstances worsened.\u00a0 However, by 1939, Lucy Baker had remarried and their economic conditions finally stabilized.\u00a0 Russell Baker spends these three chapters describing various scenes from this period, during his teenage years, culminating with his mother&#8217;s marriage to Herb Orrison, a change he resisted at first.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chapters 13-18:<\/strong>\u00a0 The final chapters of the memoir cover Russell Baker&#8217;s education and struggle to go to college, his sometimes-comical experiences training to become a navy pilot, and finally his eventual marriage after World War II to Mimi Nash.\u00a0 Along the way, Baker offers a series of powerful snapshots of American political and cultural life, including the civil rights demonstration he witnessed after boxer Joe Louis defeated German fighter Max Schmeling in 1938 and the complexity of emotions he felt at the end of the war with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Cast of Characters<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><u>IMMEDIATE FAMILY<\/u><\/p>\n<p><strong>Russell Baker<\/strong> (1925-2019): born in Morrisonville, Virginia;\u00a0 raised in Virginia, New Jersey and Baltimore; family nickname, Buddy; served in Navy Air Corps during World War II; became a journalist for the <em>Baltimore Sun<\/em>; married Mimi Nash<\/p>\n<p><strong>Benjamin Baker <\/strong>(1897-1930): Russell&#8217;s father; died of complications from diabetes<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lucy Elizabeth<\/strong> <strong>Robinson <\/strong>(1897- ?): Russell&#8217;s mother; remarried to Herb Orrison in 1939<\/p>\n<p><strong>Doris Baker<\/strong> (1927-? ): Russell&#8217;s sister<\/p>\n<p><strong>Audrey Baker<\/strong> (1930- ?):\u00a0 Russell&#8217;s sister<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mary Leslie Orrison<\/strong> (1940- ?):\u00a0 Russell&#8217;s step-sister<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Ida Rebecca Brown<\/strong> (1861-1933): Russell&#8217;s grandmother on his father&#8217;s side<\/p>\n<p><strong>George Baker<\/strong> (1855-1907): Russell&#8217;s grandfather on his father&#8217;s side<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mimi Nash <\/strong>(1927- ):\u00a0 Russell&#8217;s wife; married in 1950<\/p>\n<p><u>EXTENDED FAMILY AND FRIENDS<\/u><\/p>\n<p><strong>Baker Family:\u00a0 <\/strong>Uncle Irvey (oldest brother), Uncle Harry, Uncle Etch, Uncle Tom and Aunt Goldie (adopted Audrey), Uncle Harvey, Uncle Lewis, Uncle Miller, Raymond, Selba (Aunt Sister) and Uncle Harold (AEF veteran)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Morrisonville neighbors:\u00a0 <\/strong>Ep Ahalt (owned farm where parents met), Annie Grigsby (born in slavery)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Robinson Family: <\/strong>Uncle Allen and Aunt Pat (boarded Russell&#8217;s family), Uncle Hal (lumber business), Uncle Charlie (intellectual), Uncle Willie (California)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Friends and acquaintances:\u00a0 <em>New Jersey\u2026 <\/em><\/strong>Oluf (mother&#8217;s boyfriend), Walter (bully), Frankie, Nino and Jerry (Italian friends); Uncle Jack (Aunt Pat&#8217;s brother), <strong><em>Baltimore \u2026 <\/em><\/strong>Mr. Fleagle (teacher); Charlie Sussman (Hopkins);\u00a0 <strong><em>Navy \u2026 <\/em><\/strong>T.L. Smith (&#8220;Total Loss&#8221;)<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Additional Resources<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.encyclopediavirginia.org\/Baker_Russell_1925-#start_entry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Short\u00a0profile of Russell Baker<\/a> (Encyclopedia Virginia)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nybooks.com\/articles\/archives\/2009\/feb\/12\/a-revolutionary-president\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Russell Baker reviews books about Franklin Roosevelt<\/a> (New York Review of Books)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.humanity.org\/voices\/commencements\/russell-baker-connecticut-college-speech-1995\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1995 Commencement Address by Russell Baker<\/a> (Connecticut College)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/baltimoreauthors.ubalt.edu\/writers\/russelbaker.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mapping Russell Baker&#8217;s Baltimore<\/a> (Baltimore Authors)<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Image Gallery<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-304 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/course-syllabus\/growing-up\/growing-up-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2015\/02\/Growing-Up-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/course-syllabus\/growing-up\/baker-time\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2015\/02\/Baker-Time-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/course-syllabus\/growing-up\/russell-baker-modern\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2015\/02\/Russell-Baker-Modern-150x150.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2015\/02\/Russell-Baker-Modern-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2015\/02\/Russell-Baker-Modern.jpeg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/course-syllabus\/growing-up\/russell-baker\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2015\/02\/Russell-Baker-2012-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/course-syllabus\/growing-up\/baltimore-slum-1938\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2015\/02\/Baltimore-Slum-1938-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/course-syllabus\/growing-up\/migrant-mother\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2015\/02\/Migrant-Mother-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/course-syllabus\/growing-up\/louis-schmeling-1938\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2015\/02\/Louis-schmeling-1938-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/course-syllabus\/growing-up\/600px-atomic_bombing_of_japan\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2015\/02\/600px-Atomic_bombing_of_Japan-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/course-syllabus\/growing-up\/rosie_the_riveter_cover\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2015\/02\/Rosie_the_Riveter_cover-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Images courtesy of Penguin Group, Time Inc., Baltimore Sun, Library of Congress, National Archives and Wikipedia<\/p>\n<p><strong>Featured Videos<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here is an oral history interview with Russell Baker conducted in 2010 by\u00a0the Loudoun (VA) Times-Mirror.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/h5_-vvr1xkY\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russell Baker\u2019s Pulitzer Prizer-winning\u00a0memoir of his Depression era childhood,\u00a0Growing Up\u00a0(1981) offers a wonderful gateway to study the period between 1900 and 1945. \u00a0There is no free online text for this book, but on this page, students will also find a map of key events with excerpts from the text as well as some additional resources [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":373,"featured_media":0,"parent":13,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-304","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/373"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/304\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}