Jack Cummings was a member of the Whitewater City High Class of 1949. He was on the faculty of the UW-W, possibly in the Science Department. Jack and his wife Nancy lived on Satinwood Lane and had a son and daughter, Jackie.



Here is an essay written by Jack on the occasion of a class reunion:




CONSIDER THE CHANGES WE HAVE WITNESSED:

We were born before television, before penicillin, before polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic, contact lens, Frisbees and the PILL.

We were before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams and ballpoint pens; before pantyhose, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip dry clothes, and before man walked on the moon.

We got married first and THEN lived together. How quaint can you be?

In our time closets were for clothes, not for "coming out of". Bunnies were small rabbits and rabbits were not Volkswagens. Designer Jeans were scheming girls named Jean or Jeanne, and having a meaning relationship meant getting along well with our cousins.

We though fast food was what you ate during Lent, and Outer Space was the back of the Strand Theatre.

We were before house-husbands, gay rights, computer dating, dual careers and computer marriages. We were before day-care centers, group therapy and nursing homes. We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electric typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, yogurt, and guys wearing earrings. For us, time sharing meant togetherness - not computers or condominiums; a chip meant a piece of wood, and software wasn't even a word.

In 1940 "made in Japan" meant junk and the term "making out" referred to how you did on your exam. Pizzas, McDonalds and instant coffee were unheard of. But we had Crummey's Cabins and Drive In.

We hit the scene when there 5 and 10 cent stores, where you bought things for five and ten cents. For one nickel you could ride a street car, make a phone call, buy a Pepsi or enough stamps to mail one letter and two postcards. You could buy a new Plymouth-Four-Door with a spotlight for $600, but who could afford one? A pity, too, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

In our day, cigarette smoking was fashionable, GRASS was mowed, COKE was a cold drink and POT was something you cooked in. ROCK MUSIC was a Grandma's lullaby and AIDS were helpers in the Principal's Office.

We were certainly not before the difference between the sexes was discovered, but we were surely before the sex change; we made do with what we had. And we were the last generation that was so dumb as to think you needed a husband to have a baby!

We were born before missiles, but if you played cornet in Carleton Patty's band, you were in the world's first missile range because you were in the direct path of Carleton's baton aimed at either Bob Benzer or Richy Webb.

We were born before Modern Education--some were survivors of one room 1-8 grade schools--some of you spent your entire 13 years of school in one building - College High or City High. Some, like Nancy, still are there.

We were born before a different coach for each sport and a different team for each action (offense, defense, special teams, etc.). We had a coach for all seasons. We had our Crummey Quaker teams fall, winter, and spring and some of us even joined his drive-in team in the summer.

We were before modern math. Obviously, Mr. Bartholomew and Miss Christen knew we couldn't handle it.

Yes, we are indeed a unique class.

We were born in the depression--we missed serving in WWII, but many served in Korea and some in Vietnam. We have witnessed technological and scientific innovations, political scandals, recessions, zooming economy, indeed changing times but no doubt - "The Best of Times".

I'm sure many of us have been appendectomized, colostomized, hysterectomized, had valve jobs, broken bones, knee, hip, etc. replacements and yes, even some have been bypassed and some even have gone for the final cure - retirement.


But we who are here have survived and I'm sure we're all glad to be here as survivors. What better reason to celebrate.

The Cummings et al version of the Class of 49.