Some long for the simplicity of relaxed summer days. Olalla Elementary School volunteer Art Baker prefers crunching through the brownish autumn leaves en route to the fifth-grade classroom where he works with students to solve fractions.
It is among the myriad tasks the 55-year-old Baker performs at the school.
“They do me a favor because the doctor told me I had to use my mind as much as I possibly can,” said Baker, who spent 17 years in the Navy and three years in the Army, with duties ranging from quality insurance inspections on trident nuclear submariners to working as an elevator mechanic.
On May 21, 2000, Baker’s wife drove their Ford Explorer through a stop sign at the intersection on Pine and Sidney roads and collided with another vehicle. Baker, who was ejected from the vehicle, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
“I’m kind of like a walking miracle because every part of my brain was damaged,” he said. “At first they thought I was dead and then they thought I was going to be in a convalescence home for the rest of my life.”
Baker believes his left arm saved him. The blow to his head was softened when he hit the ground because it landed on the arm, which was shattered. Surgeons were able to save the arm by inserting a metal plate with a dozen screws to stabilize it.
“I can tell you when the weather changes,” he said, laughing.
Among myriad injuries Baker suffered from the accident was memory loss. He cannot recall all of the details from his recovery, which lasted several months, but vividly recalls the doctor entering his room every morning seeking his first and last names — among other details.
“Finally he walked in the door one time and I said, ‘My name is Art Michael Baker Jr. Why do you ask me these questions all of the time?’” he said. “He said they basically were seeing how my mind was reacting. The doctors have told me they can’t explain why I can do the things I do because every part of my brain was damaged.”
In addition to his diminished mental capacity, Baker suffered physical setbacks. He was busy living an active life — Baker said he worked 18-19 hours per day in the military — and maintained a vigorous schedule after leaving active duty. At the time of the accident, Baker was working at Industrial Rubber & Supply in Fife.
But he said the accident disrupted his equilibrium. And lacking balance led to a fear of heights, which ended his career working on elevators.
Enter Olalla Elementary.
The Bakers’ son went to the school in sixth grade, but their daughter, Rachael, who now is a sophomore at South Kitsap High School, began attending Olalla in first grade.
“I can’t say enough about this school and what my daughter did when she went to this school,” he said.
Baker said an impetus behind his passion for working in school stems from his childhood. He said the education system in New York City was so poor that he often had multiple teachers in a one-month span.
“There were probably like 75 kids in my class and we really didn’t have volunteers,” Baker said. “When I was 12, there were kids that were 18 years old in my class. Back then they just failed you, failed you and failed you.”
Baker not only wanted a better experience for his children, but others. Another volunteer, Frankie Gower, whose late husband, Dewayne, was South Kitsap School District’s superintendent until his retirement in 1995, said Baker is unique from most because he remained involved with the school after his children left.
“He gets here before the teachers do,” Gower said. “You couldn’t find a better volunteer — ever — than Mr. Baker.”
Baker, who is legally deaf and can communicate with others because of cochlear implants, maintains that the accident caused him to somewhat slow his lifestyle.
First-year Olalla principal Charlotte Flynn never sees Baker resting, though. She said his day begins with the school’s breakfast program and then runs through small-group instruction, listening to children read and working with them on art projects.
“The man is full of energy,” Flynn said. “He just goes and goes all day long. Everyone appreciates and loves him.”
Baker, whose wife also volunteers within the district and works as a lunchroom server at Olalla and John Sedgwick Junior High, shared similar sentiments about the staff at the school.
“The teachers and the staff here are just unbelievable,” she said. “If you need something and ask, they’ll bend over backwards to get you what you need.”
Baker estimates that he knows 95 percent of the children at Olalla. Among them is second-grader Reese Willson.
“He’s really nice,” she said. “He has done a lot of stuff for our class and school.”
After being stationed for five and a half years on the USS Nimitz, Baker said he enjoys the freedom to walk around the school and work on different sets of activities.
“Like every other parent, they want their kids to evolve and get the best education they can,” he said. “I really enjoy being around kids. Kids can teach you a lot.”

Story by Chris Chancellor