Author: Legacy Synthesis

It has been said that the class of 1956 knew Tom Baker was unique. He was the class president and served on the Executive Council for 5 years. He was a member of the varsity basketball team and the Handlian staff.

After earning an Electrical Engineering degree at Virginia Tech in 1960, he worked for Westinghouse on the nuclear submarine USS Ethan Allen. Tom married Sheila Fries, a member of the Handley Class of 1957. They returned to Winchester in 1963 to work with his father in the electrical contracting firm, Baker & Anderson. He moved into real estate development and established storage and warehouse units around Winchester.

Tom and Shelia lost their daughter to Lymphoma in 1976. In 1982, Tom read an article about a special summer camp for children living with cancer and their families. He decided he wanted to create a similar camp. Tom and Shelia secured help from the National Institutes of Health, the 4-H Center in Front Royal, the Rotary Club, plus countless volunteers. In August 1983, 29 children, aged 7 to 17, came for one week of camping. Camp Fantastic and Special Love, Inc. continue to serve children living with cancer and their families forty years later.

In the early 1990’s, Tom and Sheila donated their first home and 3 acres of land on Battaile Drive to create the Youth Development Center.

Tom was a member of the Rotary Club of Winchester for over 45 years. Rotary recognized him with its Distinguished Service Award for exceptional continuous service and, in 2016, the Avenues of Service Award for his work on club, community, vocational, new generations and international service projects.

Halford “Red” Baker was voted the “Most Outstanding Boy” in the Class of 1938. A class officer, he served on the Executive Committee of the General Organization for three years and was a member of the Glee Club for 4 years.

Red was a 6’ 1”, 198 pound varsity athlete in three sports and a member of the Monogram Club for 5 years. He played basketball and was captain of both the football team and the track team in his senior year.

Red was the top individual scorer in the 1938 state track meet. He placed first in the discus and 220 yard run, second in javelin and high jump, and third in shot put. A back cramp prevented him from running a sixth event.

Handley’s 1938 track team won its fourth consecutive state title under Coach Otis “Snag” Sargent. Red Baker was on all four teams.

After graduation, Red worked as a driver for American Railroad Express Company before serving in the U. S. Army during World War II. He later became the manager of the H. F. Nelson Company, the local distributor of Sun Oil Company products.

Red became the facility manager for the Frederick County Fruit Growers Association in 1967 before being named the Association’s Executive Director. He worked with representatives of the U. S. Department of Labor and the British West Indies to recruit and safely house over 1,000 seasonally employed farmworkers each year. The peaches and apples harvested by those workers were stored, processed and marketed by area companies that employed several thousand local residents.

In 1980, Halford “Red” Baker was the first person inducted into the Judges Athletic Association’s Hunter Maddex Hall of Fame.

LA Anderson was a standout player in both basketball and football. He earned All-State and first team Northwest District honors in football following the 2004 season, during which he led the team to the state semi-finals with a record of 9 wins and 4 losses. He was the first Handley quarterback to exceed 1,000 yards in both passing and rushing in a single season.

LA continued his education at Fort Scott Community College and Northland Community and Technical College, where he was named a Junior College All-American. He completed his education at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Following college, LA played four years in the Northern Elite Football League for the Chippewa Valley Predators. There, he received invitations from the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings to try out for the NFL.

LA finished his playing career in 2015 and returned to Winchester, where he started his company “All In Sports Training”.

He joined Amy and Daniel Maynard in 2018 to start Winc-City Assault. The organization works with youth to help them reach their highest potential both academically and athletically. They currently have 6 travel basketball teams ranging from 2nd through 12th grade and 12 non-travel teams who practice and play locally.
LA has been an assistant football coach at Handley since 2020.

LA recently stated that no matter how many years go by, you always remember the people and the community that backed you at Handley and followed you no matter where you went or what you did. He said his main focus now is to give back to that community and to help the young people reach their full potential and reach their goals.

Miles Ashe was the president of his class for 3 years prior to becoming President of the Student Government Association during his senior year. He enjoyed working on projects designed to unify the student body such as the Winter Dance that raised money to assist the local homeless shelter. As a mentor with Daniel Morgan Middle School students, he spoke on numerous occasions about working with others in a diverse environment.

Miles was a member of the Handley football and track teams. He was active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and was part of the school’s record setting 4 x 100 meter relay team.

Miles was voted Homecoming King by the student body in 2019. At graduation, he was awarded both the Ron Rice Award for Best All Around in Athletics and Leadership and the Golden Gavel Award that recognizes Handley seniors for exceptional character, leadership skills, community devotion and commitment to learning.

Miles is currently a student/athlete majoring in Computer Engineering and playing football at Christopher Newport University. A finalist in the university’s MLK Day “Facing the Challenge of a New Age” oratory contest, he continues his community work and service with several groups in the Newport News, Virginia area. He is active in the local NAACP and The National Society of Black Engineers.

When Miles is home on college break, he continues to stay engaged with Handley students by volunteering at Handley track practice and mentoring young athletes.