7
CULTURE & HERITAGE
CELEBRATING THE HISTORY
OF EASTERN OREGON
AUGUST 11�18, 2021
Dr. Balthasar’s Traveling Medicine
Show will cure what ails you
By Lisa Britton
Go! Magazine
B
AKER CITY — Dr. Balthasar
rolls into town this weekend
to hawk his miracle medicine
that cures anything that ails his
listeners.
Does it work? Well, the good
doctor’s grin and slick salesman
pitch might give you a clue.
Mike Follin has portrayed Dr.
Balthasar for 40 years, and he’s
brought the show to Baker City
since the early 1990s when he
fi rst came to the National Historic
Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.
His next visit to Baker County
will be Aug. 12-15. Performances
begin at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m.
and 2:30 p.m. at the National
Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive
Center, 5 miles east of Baker City
on Highway 82. The shows will
be outside because the center is
closed.
Follin will give an extra show
at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, at
Geiser-Pollman Park in Baker
City.
All performances are free.
Follin lives 45 miles north of
Columbus, Ohio. It took a bit of
convincing to bring him from
Ohio to Baker City the fi rst time,
but he’s returned every year
since 1993.
“That started a long and
wonderful relationship with Baker
City,” he said. “Over the years I’ve
made some wonderful friends.”
Follin worked as an education
interpreter for the Ohio Histori-
cal Society. He developed the
character of Dr. Balthasar 40
years ago for a summer program.
He did research for about six
months, and plucked the name
Balthasar from a Cincinnati
newspaper printed in the 1820s.
“I wanted to pick a name that
was equivalent to a medicine
man,” he said.
His miracle medicine show
was slated for just one year.
“It was supposed to be for one
summer,” he said. “Then the next
summer, and the next summer.
Then it was discovered by other
sites.”
He’s traveled his show east to
Delaware, south to Texas, north
to Michigan and west as far as
Baker City.
Travel Baker County
Mike Follin performs as Dr. Balthasar Aug. 12-15 in Baker City.
At least, that’s as far as he’s
been within the United States.
Dr. Balthasar also has been to
England, Ireland and Japan.
Follin laughs as he recounts
the Japanese visit because the
fi rst show’s intent was lost in
translation. He realized this when
he fi nished and the audience was
silent.
“There were crickets. I
thought, ‘This is going to be the
longest month of my life,’” he
said.
But then one man raised his
hand and, through the translator,
began to describe his aches and
pains for Dr. Balthasar.
To prepare for his remaining
shows in Japan, Follin said he
spent the next two days memo-
rizing 80% of the show in Japa-
nese. The rest of his performanc-
es went much better, he said.
Visit Heritage Station Museum
for a trip back in time
We thank these Chamber Members
for their continued support
See how wheat helped shape Umatilla County
Step inside a Union Pacific caboose, the Byrd School
and spend time on the Pioneer Homestead
Open Tues-Sat
10am-4pm
Dining at
The Landing
www.VisitUnionCounty.org
IN PENDLETON
www.HeritageStationMuseum.org