Veteran Broadcaster Documents Baker County Life, Strengthens Local Storytelling

Tom Shrider brought decades of public broadcasting experience to Baker County after retiring from Oregon Public Broadcasting following a 38 year career. He and his wife Suzette moved to Baker City in June 2023. Beginning in July 2023 he started recording local events, beginning with Miners Jubilee. Most recently he recorded stories told at the opening of an Anthony Lakes exhibit at the Eastern Oregon Museum in Haines on October 26. After editing, he posts finished shorts on his YouTube channel, including a video titled Baker City Anthony Lakes.

Shrider’s background includes long work on Oregon Art Beat where he edited more than 500 episodes, as well as other broadcast projects. Since retiring he became a Master Gardener and continued to look for local stories to film and share. Those skills show in the short documentary pieces that combine oral history, footage of events, and attention to community detail.

The immediate impact is cultural preservation. Short videos archive memories, ceremonies, and local knowledge that might otherwise fade, and they create a visual record that museums, schools, and community groups can use in programs and exhibits. The Eastern Oregon Museum benefit includes greater visibility for exhibits and potential to attract visitors who learn about regional history through filmed stories.

There are public health and equity implications in how these stories are shared. Community storytelling can strengthen social connection and reduce isolation among older residents who often carry local history. At the same time the work depends on online platforms and broadband access, exposing a digital divide in rural Baker County. Residents without reliable internet or digital skills may be left out of both viewing and contributing, which reinforces existing access gaps.

Local officials and nonprofit leaders can support this grassroots media work by partnering on screenings at libraries, senior centers, and schools, and by considering cultural grants and broadband investments that expand reach. Shrider’s project is a reminder that community media can serve as low cost infrastructure for civic engagement, public education, and cultural resilience. His ongoing recordings offer Baker County a growing archive of its own stories and a model for how local storytelling can strengthen civic life.