Wednesday, September 16, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Of a certain age
23
Pushing hard through adversity
encouraged them to chal-
lenge themselves. I found
that through photography, I
could make a difference in
the lives of young people by
capturing their greatest or
most memorable moments
in a picture... That9s how I
started; then I came here.=
Baldock feels deeply
invested in the community
he chose.
<What a godsend Sisters,
Oregon, was to us,= he said.
Asked why he chose to
work so hard at his photog-
raphy instead of retiring and
taking it easy, he said simply:
<My job wasn9t done yet.=
He acknowledges feeling
driven by <something inside
me.=
<My family thought I
was crazy,= he said. But
<this is what I really want
to do. I haven9t been sorry a
moment.=
Jerry acknowledges the
support of his wife, Marlene,
who understands his drive
to capture moments 4 and
never let one pass him by,
from a Habitat for Humanity
Editor in Chief
home dedication to a touch-
Nobody who knows Jerry
down on the football field.
Baldock is surprised to see
<She let me do this all
that not even a serious health
these years when we were
crisis can keep him down.
in our prime time,= he said.
The 79-year-old photogra-
<There were a lot of times
pher is still out on the streets
she had to sacrifice things
of Sisters documenting the
maybe she wanted to do
life of his community, despite
because I was working for
a tough cancer diagnosis.
Habitat or something.=
<It is what it is and you
Baldock feels a particular
do your very best with it,= he
connection to youth sports,
told The Nugget, the news-
inspired in large part by his
paper to which he has con-
son9s legacy.
tributed for over a decade.
<He was an amazing
<In that way, my life hasn9t
example to the community,=
changed at all... I think you
he said. <You want to live to
can be an example for people.
that example.=
I think you can be an exam-
He worries about the
ple just not to be fearful.=
effects the coronavirus pan-
While he worked with
demic shutdown is having
great success as a fire medic,
on young people who are
a home inspector, and a con-
missing big moments in their
tractor, Baldock came to his
lives. He acknowledges that
greatest calling relatively late
he has modified his activi-
in life.
ties due to the threat of the
<My interest in photogra-
disease, especially to a can-
phy started shortly after my
cer patient, but 4 typically
youngest son passed away
4 he is more concerned for
in 2005,= he told
the kids than he is for
The Nugget in 2018.
himself.
<My son Brian was
<For a man 79
My family thought I was crazy,
a coach and trainer
years old, that9s not
at Marshfield High
but this is what I really want to do. so hard as it is for
School, but more than
them,= he said.
that, he was a mentor
Baldock just
for Marshfield9s ath-
recently flipped the
letes. He was truly
calendar on his 79th
a gift from God in
year, and his birthday
— Jerry Baldock provided an indica-
the way he mentored
young people and
tion of how much
By Jim Cornelius
I haven’t been sorry
a moment.
Jerry Baldock is a familiar sight in
Sisters as the man behind the camera
shooting all kinds of community events.
PHOTO PROVIDED
students and parents in the
community value what he
has given over the years.
He has a tall stack of birth-
day cards noting, <that they
missed what I was doing and
they appreciate the moments
I captured in their children9s
lives. I was caught off guard
when I got that stuff.=
Baldock was out on
assignment for The Nugget
a week ago, shooting at the
Sisters Street Festival and the
Sisters Farmers Market.
<It was really fun doing
what I did last Sunday,= he
said. <I had a great time.=
And he plans on keeping
on having a great time doing
the work he loves, no matter
what the obstacles.
With his trademark grin,
he told his editor: <I don9t
really see an end to what I
do.=