Courtesy of Linda Russell

BAKER CITY — Linda Russell rushed away from an unknown pursuer and straight into the job of her dreams.

“I was in front of Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace — the National Park Service,” she said. “I darted in and took a tour.”

Her stalker forgotten, Russell instantly took to the idea of working for the Park Service.

“How do I get a job here?” she asked.

And so began a career in interpretation for the parks in New York, which included being a balladeer at Federal Hall for 16 years.

Russell, who lives on the Upper West Side in New York City, will be in Baker City Friday through Sunday, July 23-25.

She will give three performances each day at the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center: 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. The center is located 5 miles outside of Baker City on Highway 86.

On Saturday, July 24, Russell also will perform in Geiser-Pollman Park at the Powder River Pavilion. Her show starts at 5 p.m.

All performances are free and open to the public.

Russell said she “grew up loving history and music.”

“My mom was a church organist and my dad was the town historian,” she said.

She started work with the National Park Service in 1973. She played guitar, mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer and pennywhistle.

“I love looking at the past through song,” Russell said. “It’s a great way to bring the emotions to life. It’s a passion — I’m very lucky to do what I love.”

Her first appearance at NHOTIC was in 1993, just one year after the center opened. And she kept coming back.

“I went just about every year for 15 years,” she said, but she hasn’t been back since 2012.

This weekend, Russell brings two shows back to the center: “Patchwork” and “Songs of the Westward Emigrants.”

In “Patchwork,” she uses the voices of 17 different women to tell the story of the Oregon Trail, featuring actual words from diaries, letters, songs and women’s magazines.

“It’s about the joys and sorrows, in their own words,” Russell said.

At the center, she’ll present “Patchwork” once per day, and “Songs” twice a day. “Songs” will also be her choice for the Geiser-Pollman Park show Saturday evening.

“These are songs pioneers took on their journey west,” she said.

July 23-25, 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. daily at the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, Baker City

5 p.m. July 24 in Geiser-Pollman Park, Baker City

All performances are free