Grand Marshal Scotty Baker, right, sitting next to his son, Sam, waves to bystanders at the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show parade on Friday, June 9, 2023, in Union.

UNION — Scotty Baker, of Union, does not always wear a wristwatch, which is ironic because Baker, 92, has a connection to one of the most intriguing and exhaustive timekeeping projects in history.

Baker, who served as grand marshal of the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show parade on Friday, June 9, was asked several years ago to assist with the 10,000 Year Clock Project in Texas. The clock, which is being built with major assistance from Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, will be designed to keep time for the next 10,000 years and will be installed several hundred feet deep within a mountain in West Texas.

Drilling work within the mountain started several years ago, and this is where Baker’s expertise was called upon. Baker, the founder of a company that makes carriages used to transport logs and equipment via sky cable, was asked to develop a carriage for a cable system used to lower drilling equipment 1,200 feet into a mountain shaft.

The longtime Union resident was delighted to take on the challenge and designed a carriage for the unique project.

“It took about two and a half months,” he said.

Baker was a natural for the project since he helped found two companies in La Grande that make carriages for skyline logging operations. The first was Eagle Truck and Machine, founded in 1977, and the second is Eagle Carriage and Machine, founded in 1979. Baker operated Eagle Carriage and Machine for 32 years before retiring in 2011 and giving the reins of the company to his son.

Baker became an ace problem solver for companies operating skyline operations, developing carriages that addressed many problems for logging companies.

“Scotty is very creative. He can picture everything in his mind and come up with a solution,” said Larry Cribbs, of Island City, who worked for Baker at Eagle Truck and Machine.

Cribbs credits Baker with being the person people went to in his field whenever they had a dilemma.

“He was our answer man, our problem solver,” he said.

Baker’s problem-solving ability led him to receive two patents from the U.S. Patent office for carriages he developed.

“Applying for those patents involved a lot of work,” Baker said.

The carriages Baker developed helped logging operations be conducted in a manner that has a limited impact on the environment. Cribbs explained that skyline operations have less of an environmental impact because they prevent materials from being pulled across landscapes.

“He is vitally concerned about natural resources, timber, water and soil,” Cribbs said of Baker.

The customer service Baker provided, according to Cribbs, was second to none. He said if a problem developed with a piece of equipment his shop made, Baker would not only make sure the item was fixed but would return to the customer a rebuilt product superior to the original.

“He would not juste patch something up,” Cribbs said. “He didn’t make it as good as it was, but he made it better.”

Baker also has strong ties to the cattle industry. He has owned a cattle ranch 6 miles outside Union since the 1950s. He operated the ranch until a year ago. He said that operating the ranch and Eagle Carriage and Machine for so many years was good for him.

“I like being busy,” he said.

Baker grew up in Burns but came to Union in 1948. He attended Union High School for one year, graduating in 1949. He said Union has not changed a lot since then.

“It is just a little bigger,” he said.

Baker has been attending the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show annually for many years and said he hadn’t expected to be named the grand marshal of its parade.

“It was quite an honor,” he said.