Friday, December 11, 2009

Marian Louise Baker's Roots, Love and Family Ties

Marian Louise Baker came from a family steeped in respect and love. Her parents had suffered the dissolution of their marriage when Marian and her brother Ross were small, but the core of the family was steadfast. It flowed through Marian and Ross as they kept the tether between them strong and unyielding despite the physical miles that separated them after Marian went to live with her Aunt Ally and Uncle Jack in Conestoga.
That very respect for family and love was acted upon by those giving, compassionate people as they raised Marian. They made sure that they did all they could to maintain the relationship between Marian and her brother, Ross.
The O'Donels were what most Lancaster Countians aspire to be. Hardworking, faithful and faith-driven, they acted on their beliefs and were genuine. They raised Marian with their own children and the fact that Marian wasn't born of their union was so completely irrelevant that it never occurred or mattered to anyone.
Even as a little girl, I was aware of the goodness of the O'Donels. It was stated in my presence many times and it was just understood. It went without question.
I consider Leroy and Alice O'Donel angels on earth.
If God has laid out the paths for our lives then He knew what awful fate awaited Marian, for whatever His reason. And if that is the case, then He made sure to place His angels at Marian's side as she grew up, to love her, to protect her, to give her the foundation of faith and goodness that she would carry with her as she returned to heaven. I don't believe in coincidences. Marian Louise was born into a family of goodness and she bore the fruit of her ancestors. She stood on the shoulders of greatness, as we all do. Each of us has certain facts, traits in our ancestry that form greatness. Whether it be my dear Aunt Marge's untiring efforts and sacrifices to get her education and become a teacher, or an ancestors toil and struggle to fight finances and hardship to hold onto the family farm or land, we all have that incredible foundation to stand on.
I have not been lucky enough to know many numbers of people who knew Marian or her family but I have been blessed to come to know one. And there is no question to what Marian stood for or from whence she came.



This is the homestead of Marian's family in New Bloomfield, Perry County, Pennsylvania. The deep roots of respect and love of family grew here. Marian loved New Bloomfield.


This is the home of Marian's Aunt Ally and Uncle Jack, the O'Donels, that they purchased in 1960, after Marian's death.



Marian's brother, Ross Dalton Baker Smith is on the left. He loved his sister all of his days and not once did he forget her. He left a granddaughter to bear his beloved sister's name. He lived a life of honor and was a great man. An author, a Navyman, he loved the letters his sister sent to him while he was serving our country.




The Worst Has Come To Pass....is what the Lancaster Newspapers printed when Marian Baker's body was found under the Harnish Cottage near Media Heights Golf Course. Some still had held out hope that she was being held against her will or had suffered some accident but was still alive. The awful discovery sickened the county and was a turning point in how many people saw the world of the local Lancastrian.




Guilty, death penalty. The jury spoke. And they spoke without question or apparent hesitation. Many were shocked at the death verdict. It took the courtroom by surprise. Some said that even the Judge was caught totally off guard, enough that he never uttered a thanks to the jury, but simply dismissed them.
Ed Gibbs had confessed to the murder but went to his grave with the truth. He knew that there was a very good chance that he would face execution but he reacted to the verdict and sentence with raw emotion.
That display of emotion was completely absent as he sat in the electric chair for his ultimate punishment.



Ed Gibbs was an outsider. He wasn't a 'townie' and he wasn't a local. Because of his heinous crime, many Lancastrians saw fit to label all F&M male students a threat of some sort, despite the fact that many were local young men of unquestionable character.
One male student at F & M at the time of the murder, one who was rather close to the situation, was walking on the sidewalk in Lancaster. It was after the murder and Marian's fate was known. He was wearing a sweater that clearly identified him as an F & M student. As he approached a local woman who was busy watering her flowerbeds, she turned on him and sprayed him, hissing her venom at him for being from the school and it was clear that the leeching of fear and disgust over the murder extended to and hurt innocent people.


The Missing Wife....Helen Woodward Gibbs returned to New Jersey with Ed's parents after his arrest and for all intents and purposes disappeared. Her father made brief statements referring to her but never allowed any direct interviews of his daughter. Ed claimed to have written to her several times but denied getting any response at all. The carefully constructed wall of protection around Helen Gibbs was almost impenetrable.
Her family claimed that she had 'taken to her bed'.
Many questions remain about Helen Gibbs.
Was she indeed pregnant as several people who knew the couple back then still believe?
Did she have a foreshadowing of the dark soul of her husband?
Was she and/or her family privy to details of the crime that made her unable to even comprehend that she had married and laid down with a creature such as Ed Gibbs?
Helen Gibbs was a victim in this tragedy as well.
I cannot imagine that a day has passed in her life that she doesn't remember those times, no matter how badly she may pray to forget.