Otto Hummer

Notes for OTTO HENRY HUMMER:

Otto H. Hummer receives recognition at age of 21.

"Little" Otto H. Hummer is indeed a familiar name at Tiffin Business University. No student has graduated from the university in the past decade in whom the faculty at T.B.U. takes more pride than Otto Hummer. It does not seem so many months ago since "Little Otto" was a Tiffin newsie.

He applied for admission at Tiffin Business University and was met with the answer, "You are too young, and have had no high school work." He applied again for admission, but in vain. He was twice refused for the reason that he was but sixteen years of age, and had had no high school training. He did not give up but waited one night in the rear of the hall until 10:00 o’clock to have an interview with President Miller as he left the office. On account of his persistency in applying for admission, he was finally permitted to entry by way of trial, on the understanding that he would pay no tuition in the fall of 1918. If he could get the course thoroughly mastered to a degree of accepting a position he could then pay his tuition on a monthly basis. If he failed to get the course, he would lose only his time. This was a delightful offer and he joyously accepted. He worked diligently, eclipsing many in his class who had completed a high school course, and also one who had graduated from college. He worked almost night and day, he was so determined to make good, which he did with a vengeance.

He finished the course in a comparatively short time with a marked degree of efficiency, and was immediately placed by the school with the B. & O. Railroad, Willard office, at $90.00 per month in November, 1919. In one year he was promoted and sent to the freight department of the B. & O., Toledo office in November, 1920. He remained there exactly one year, and was again promoted, and sent to the Grand Central Station of the B. & O., Chicago, receiving an unusual promotion.

Otto Hummer holds the position of expert rate clerk. He was 21 years of age, June11. He has been commanding a salary of $2100 per annum since August, 1922, ten months before he attained his twenty-first birthday. He has achieved a record made by few boys his age. How many young men in Tiffin, or elsewhere, receive $2100 per annum before they become of age? To the young men readers of this sketch concerning Mr. Hummer, we would say you can do as well, if you qualify. He could not attend high school on account of home conditions. How much more should the boy accomplish who has gone through a four year high school course? A commercial training was the stepping stone which helped Mr. Hummer toward success. It will help any young man who is not afraid of hard work climb the ladder of success.

Mr. Otto H. Hummer as Downers Grove Park District Board President.

Mr. Otto H. Hummer was responsible for the formation of the Downers Grove Park District, served many years as its first president, then later as its first paid superintendent. He and his wife, Alice, retired and moved to Minnesota in 1964. The Hummers lived in a Downers Grove house facing Prince Pond in the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950's. Mr. Hummer, "sick and tired," of seeing the pond deteriorate and fill up with litter and silt, he told the REPORTER at one time, that he decided to do something about it. He was the mainspring in a drive for a local, successful referendum to form the present park district. The referendum was held June 15, 1946, and the vote for approval was 130 to 80. In a letter to the Park Board when he resigned as superintendent in 1962, Mr. Hummer said in part: "I sincerely trust that the people of Downers Grove understand the importance of a good park system to their community and will renew their interest in the affairs of the district, in the hope that someday a long cherished dream of one of the finest park systems in the state may become a realty for Downers Grove (REPORTER, April 22, 1964). At the time of his resignation, and when Mr. and Mrs. Hummer moved to Minnesota, they had lived at 4905 Parkway. In the 1950’s the Downers Grove Park Board purchased the picnic grounds and house on the east side of Fairview north of Maple, renaming the site Hummer Park and the house, Hummer House, in honor of the board’s first president. After moving to Minnesota, Mr. Hummer served on the Highland city planning commission, zoning commission, parking commission, was chairman of that city’s Capital Improvement Budget for many years and served for about ten years as secretary-treasurer of the Highland Business Association.

Hummer Park, Downers Grove, IL

According to museum resources, the first parcel of Hummer Park land was purchased on 05/31/1951 and the last parcel was purchased on 11.02.1959. The 11.15.1951 issue of the Downers Grove Reporter stated that the Downers Grove Park District Board named the park in honor of Otto Hummer at their November meeting. Unfortunately, the park district does not have an official dedication date.

Gavel Club

The 1978 edition of the Gavel Club book and its entire year of endeavors is dedicated to Past President of the Gavel Club and true friend to all of the citizens of Saint Paul …. Otto H. Hummer. Otto was an active participant in every organization and project in which he became involved and those endeavors were well-known from Downers Grove, Illinois, where he lived before moving to Saint Paul in 1964, to the time of his death this year, 1978. He actively served on the Saint Paul Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Planning and Zoning Committee. He was a member and past Chairman of the Long-Range Capitol Improvement Budget Committee. His charitable and civic affiliations were numerous. He was secretary to both the Midway Kiwanis and the Highland Business Association. He served on committees for the Red Cross, the Voyageurs National Park Board of Directors, Midway Civic and Commerce Association, and Clean Capitol City, as well as being active in many local, state and national ecology, litter, reforestation and beautification projects. His contributions to the Gavel Club of Saint Paul were known by all who had the pleasure to see him in action. Past President, Director, Committee Chairman, originator and editor of the "parade of Hits", were just some of his visible accomplishments. …..A book dedicated to a dedicated man.

Highland Pool, St. Paul, MN

Highland Pool’s dedication ceremony was held on Wednesday, August 22, 1979. The plaque reads as follows: "Dedicated to the memory of Otto H. Hummer (1902-1978) who, in retirement, gave to St. Paul of his time, energies and expertise in large measure. This Highland pool reflects one important phase of his many years as a member and chairman of the Capital Improvements Budget and as Secretary-Treasurer of the Highland Business Association." The land approaching the pool has already been marked after City Council action designated the short entrance avenue at "Otto Hummer drive."

Otto H. Hummer

Advertiser-Tribune,

Fri., 4 Aug 1978, Page 4A (incomplete text)

Private services were held July 21 at St. Paul's United Church of Christ in St. Paul, Minn., for Otto H. Hummer, 76, of 1887 Saunders Ave., St. Paul, formerly of Downers Grove, Ill., and Tiffin.

Hummer, retired assistant traffic agent for Western Electric in Chicago, died at Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul on July 18, 1978. He was the past president and superintendent of the Downers Grove Park District and a lifetime member of the Illinois Association of Park Districts, secretary of the Midway Kiwanis and Highland Business Association. In St. Paul, he was on the Planning Commission Zoning Committee, the CIB and Parking Committees, Red Cross, Gavel Club, Voyageurs National Park board of directors.

Surviving are his wife, the former Alice Munson; sons, George of Boulder, Colo., Richard of Hinsdale, Ill., Ned of St. Louis, MO., Robert of Western Springs, Ill.; daughters, Mary Lou Wakefield of Marietta, Ga., Virginia of Lisle, Ill., Mrs. Gene (Nancy) Perticone of Oswego, N.Y., and Mrs. Frank (Suzan) Sinna of St. Paul; half sister, Mrs. David (Mary Agnes)...

More About OTTO HENRY HUMMER:

Awards & Honors: 1950’s - Hummer Park named after Otto as he was responsible for the formation of the Downers Grove Park District. 1978 - Gavel Club, St. Paul, MN. 8/22/1978 - Highland Pool in St. Paul, MN was dedicated to Otto Hummer.

Burial: Elmhurst Cemetery, St. Paul, MN, USA

Cause of Death: stroke

Medical Information: Otto Hummer died in Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul after an apparent stroke in May. He was 76 years of age.

Nationality: German

Occupation: Chief of Traffic Methods Department of the Western Electric Company

Orphanage: 1913, St. Francis Orphanage, Tiffin, Ohio

More About OTTO HUMMER and BEVERLEY CULLEN:

Divorce: Apr 1945

Marriage: 01 Jan 1943

More About OTTO HUMMER and ALICE MUNSON-PETERSON:

Marriage: 27 Nov 1953, St. Paul, Ramsey County, MN