As the years passed, the fame of their former tenant grew and the ever-hospitable Bakers found themselves routinely satisfying the curiosity of the author’s fans. In August 1914, Stephen Chalmers, a Scottish born writer, and his friend Robert Davis, a columnist for the New York Sun, rang the bell at Baker’s like many before them. Davis wrote a column in the Sun describing their visit:

“We crossed the river and climbed the hill. A kindly faced woman answered the door. ‘There isn’t much to see’ she volunteered. ‘There are the rooms he occupied and some of the original furniture … People like to come and look at them.'”

Both men were struck with the same thought – what a great place for a memorial plaque! The initials RLS are known throughout the world. Considered one of the most personable of writers, Stevenson’s literature and the example of his life have found a permanent home in the heart of humanity. He belongs to a very exclusive club in his profession, to be translated into virtually every known language.

With the Baker’s approval, the Stevenson Memorial Committee soon materialized including the future sculptor of Mt. Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum. The unveiling of his bronze plaque on Oct. 30, 1915, coincided with the organization of a permanent Stevenson Society of America.

In 1916, the society leased two rooms from the Bakers for public showing. Thus did the retired couple begin the tradition of custodians residing in the Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial Cottage on Stevenson Lane in Saranac Lake, N.Y. overlooking the majestic Saranac River.

“But so does fame become a thief. Your sturdy woodsman toils long and late to possess his home, and a stranger with long hair and a velvet coat, passing that way steals it from him by lodging in it for the night” (A. Donaldson, A History Of The Adirondacks).

Andrew and Mary Baker outlived all five of their children with no grandchildren. “Our last dear child is gone. How lonely we are.” That was the last entry in their big 1872 family Bible after their daughter Bertha passed in December of 1923. She was forty-seven. The Grim Reaper returned twice before spring to pick up her parents. Andrew left first in February and one might wonder if Mary was more than ready to go when her flight came three weeks later. A former custodian for many years at the Stevenson Cottage, Mrs. Maude Hotaling Delahant, never pretended to be a clairvoyant but she meant it when she told guests that she sensed sadness in the house … and she hasn’t been the only one.