Individual Details

Unidentified newspaper clipping:
Mailman ends 31 years without missing one day.
CLANTON, AL, July 4 [1953] - rounding out 31 years with the U.S. Civil Service, Claude Matthew Baker retired as city letter carrier here this week.
He is a grandson of the late Anderson Baker, who was a brother of Alfred Baker, for whom Baker County, later Chilton, was named. The Bakers live in and near Clanton and owned most of the land in this vicinity.
Claude M. Baker was born in Clanton May 13, 1890; is now 63 years old. He was married to Fannie Mims, Nov. 6, 1910, and they have two sons - U. L. Baker of Birmingham and Willie Claude Baker of Centreville, AL; also four grandsons and two granddaughters.
He is a son of the late Joseph A. Baker and Delilah Mims Baker, and has lived in Clanton most all of life, having attended the public schools of Clanton and vicinity. He graduated at Chilton County High School, in 1917, teaching in the public schools of the county several years before entering Civil Service.
According to statistics, during his term as city letter carrier, he has walked approximately 112,500 miles, which is more than four and a half times around the world; has climbed up and down 7,500,000 door steps, and in crossing back and forth across the street has jumped ditches thousands of times.
Mr. Baker has gotton along wonderfully with yard dogs, as they have always seemed to like him.
He has been bitten only twice and they were both mere scratches. He has never lost a day's work during the whole time of service; has faced storms, floods, hail, sleet, snow, heat and cold, all to see that the mail was delivered on time.
Since it is now all over, he can look back over his record with a degree of satisfaction. He is also proud of the way his feet and legs have held up. His manner of walking is in such a way that the minimum strain and wear is put to his shoes. He has worn one pair of common-stock, medium priced shoes as long as two and a half years while making his mail route.
The worst accident Mr. Baker has met or the most exciting experience was elipping, bumpety-bump, down ice-covered doorsteps during winter freezes. In order to avoid this he often went up and down steps on hands and knees or entered at the end of porches where there were no steps.

Birth	13 May 1890	Alabama
Marriage	6 Nov 1910	Chilton County, Alabama - Fannie Elizabeth Mims
Death	Jul 1984	Chilton County, Alabama

Spouse

Fannie Elizabeth Mims (1894 - 1973)

Father	Joseph Alfred Baker (1867 - 1941)
Mother	Delilah Adline Mims (1869 - 1950)
Sibling	William Rudolph Baker (1888 - 1984)
Sibling	Ruby C. Baker (1904 - 2003)
Sibling	Sena Mable Baker (1907 - 1948)