Baker Youth Club is looking back on its 85-plus years of history with a multi-part series that will appear once a month in the Times-Union. In 1926, George Bramwell Baker challenged the Warsaw Rotary Club and the city of Warsaw to start a Boy’s Club in Warsaw. Baker was an East Coast banker that summered in Winona Lake and was involved with Boy’s Clubs of America in the Boston area. He served on the board of directors and was president for his local chapter. Baker pledged $1,000 per year and the Rotary and City of Warsaw matched his pledge and Warsaw Boy’s Club was founded. In August 1926 the first Board of Directors, JE Beyer, Lloyd Johnson, Chas H. Ker, James Laffel, Borr Maish, Dr. Angus McDonald hired Pete Thorn as Baker Boy’s Club’s first director and Baker Boy’s Club was started. Thorn was a long-time teacher/truant officer and coach for Warsaw schools. Thorn was a towering man that demanded respect while mentoring young boys through the involvement in activities. If you were a young man and grew up in Warsaw from the 1920s through 1950s you attended BBC and were influenced by Pete Thorn in a positive way. Baker Boy’s Club was first housed on the top floor of Sharps Hardware store downtown Warsaw. In speaking with Robert “Coach” Lichtenwalter, the Club operated out of the hardware store where the boys played checkers, carom (a game played with their knuckles), bumper pool, read comic books, had a room where they painted mail boxes and bird houses and played basketball in a 10x10 area with 2x4’s from the ceiling to the floor made out of chicken wire.This is the first of six articles that will chronicle the history of Baker Boy’s Club during their 86-year history.
