Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Memories by Craig Alyn Ruse

To my teammates-

Believe it or not, it has been 2 years since we all met in Huntington, In. to celebrate Glenn Hummer. Our dedication dinner was for the soon to be built YMCA featuring a "state of the art" swimming pool to be named in honor of our memorable coach, "Butch". It was great to see both familiar and new faces of legends, with our common bond being one of respect for a man who helped mold all of us. We were all older, plumper, definitely a little more wrinkled and most of us had less hair.

It had been more than 40 years since I laced up my "Speedo" & swam in Big Blue, Lake Clare and our forever over-chlorinated YMCA pool. Does it really seem that long ago? Now, here we were, all of us rubbing shoulders once again. I was there with my teenage son, Julian, eager to see my old friends and teammates. I had not seen most of you since graduating from High School in 1965, & some I had never met, until that night.

As we convened there were generations of guys (& some gals) that had all swam for Butch spanning a period of over 50 years. The agenda for the evening was chaired by Gary Dilly and included appearances by the "big guns" from the history of our team. As much as it was appropriate for the dinner to feature our champions, I felt that the honor we paid to Hummer could have been better if we might have shared some personal stories that had enhanced our teams endurance over the years and fortified generations of Hummer's wunderkinds.

I respected the agenda & kept quiet as the program evolved, but I felt that there was so much more to be shared that could have been said to underscore all of our respect & honor which we were paying to Butch that night. We were an amalgamation of swimmers. I think we have all felt special about ourselves since Butch said to each of us at some point, "you're on the team!" How many lives did this man, and what he stood for, impact us all in many different ways for a lifetime?

Hummer touched more lives than the trophies and medals that his teams won collectively. Butch was more than just a swimming coach. He was a high school biology teacher, gentleman, mentor, respectful/respected, dedicated proud man with an authoritative manner. He was driven to "coach" and made a difference in the lives of all of those who swam for his teams. All of this was capped off with a sense of style, purpose & a persona that exceeded the city limits of the small Midwestern town, Huntington, In.

That night many of us recalled in dinner conversations at our individual tables personal memories that we all enjoyed hearing. However; what was lacking in my opinion, were the stories that I would have liked to have heard from the other people that were there. That is why I am now sharing with you what I would have liked to have said that night to everyone. I hope my words may strike a chord with some of you and that you might feel compelled to share some of your memories and email them to us. I would enjoy hearing your stories. If not, I appreciate your indulging me by reading my words.

I, like most of you, did not receive a college scholarship, but I applauded those that received this honor based on their exceptional swimming abilities. Butch helped spearhead into enumerable colleges and universities many of our teammates with scholarships and financial aid. How cool was that? However; even without alot of accolades, I was still a member of the team and Butch always made me feel special. I believe he did that for each of us.

My favorite memories were about riding in Butch's new cars, which he always seemed to have, along with the best swimmers on the team. I was with them, not because I was one of the best swimmers, but because Hummer always fell asleep at the wheel and he would sit me next to him so I could keep him awake with my nonstop jabbering! Obviously, I'm still talking alot! I was so proud to be a member of his team and the lessons I learned from all of my many experiences have lasted a lifetime.

As I think back upon my formative years in Huntington I can't help but constantly remember the faces and personalities of so many people on our teams. You were my peers, mentors & teammates, that to this day still represent a benchmark in my constant evaluation of people that have passed through my life and those that I continue to meet. Here's a snapshot of remembrances that I still use to compare others:-

Steve "Peanuts" Ware- The Natural
Eddie Glick - Rich Kid
Gary Dilley - Olympian
Van Rockefeller - Modesty
Bill & Mike Hays - Brothers
Jack & Mark Hiple - Trouble-making Brothers
Dick Gretzinger - Smooth Operator (In the pool & with the ladies)
Lynn Rickert - Reserved
Roger Hosler - Life long best friend
Gary Kincaid - Chunk that could
John Marks - Doctor's son
Steve Folk - Bronze Bod
Steve Diamond - Rebel
John McDonald - Bashful
John Muncie - All Smiles
John Beaver - Determined
Bill Grey - Strength
John Hoover - Funny
Alvin Sutton - Intellect
David Roush - Congressman's Son
Jerry Herzog - Nice Kid
David Ruley - Rogue
Steve Herendeen - Athlete
Dick Coyle - Handsome
Kent Mick - Each others best friend
&
Pat Callahan

Alan Dilley - The "younger" brothers
&
Rod Rockefeller

And there were 3 families that really stood out in my memory:-

Ware's- Peg - dedicated Mom
Ann - real beauty
Nancy - sweetest sister

Folk's- Bill & Carleen- dedicated parents
Carol- - cutest sister

Rockefeller's- Faith

I apologize to all of these aforementioned people who might not like my "pigeon holing" of them as to what they represent in my memory. Obviously, all of you were, and are, more than my one-word adjectives can explain. I say this with the utmost respect to all of you. In addition, I apologize to those of you that I did not mention because everyone was memorable.

Ours was a simpler time. We traveled & bunked together, cheered and rallied around each other. We celebrated others victories and supported those of us when disappointing performances prevailed. Along the way we became friends. We were privileged to have visited other towns, cities, colleges, universities, country clubs and all the while, meeting new people from different places. We supported one another before we could call on a cell, use the Internet, email, Google, Face Book or Twitter each other. We actually talked face to face. How wonderful!

Like most of you, my visits to Huntington are seldom and in the past number of years, not always under the best of circumstances because they have been about certain closures that are a part of everyone's life. As some of you may recall, I had a younger brother Tyler, with Downs Syndrome. He lived well beyond his plausible years and finally died 3 months ago at the age of 54. He was buried in Huntington next to my parents.

After the funeral I went to the new YMCA that had been completed & was now open. There aren't a lot of buildings in Huntington that are new, let alone contemporary, as this one is. It's a very cool place & it was bustling with people of all ages. As I entered the building it was a much different feeling than those memories I had of walking into our old "Y" downtown, which no longer exists as the building has been leveled & a big empty lot stands in it's place!

There I was, standing front & center, facing a bigger than life photo of Glenn Hummer. It was at least 6 feet tall in black & white with "Butch" standing there in his sartorial splendor about to board a commercial flight to Tokyo. I had never been on a plane before this photograph was taken! He was on his way to see our man Gary compete in the 1964 Olympics. Butch looked bigger than life, & I believe he was. Standing there with his overcoat draped over his arm & smiling with that blazing white mane of hair shinning in the sun. The memories of Hummer lives on in our minds & hearts. I was so proud to see him up there on the wall for all to view and for new generations of youth to contemplate.

I'm sure that most of you know that following those Olympics the Tokyo Swimming Pool was renamed and dedicated in Hummer's name. I believe some of the effort behind this honor was influenced by George Haines, the most famous of us all. His Santa Clara Swim Club teams were legendary. He attained "superstar" status as an Olympic coach (7) and then as head coach (4). He was a prodigy of Butch and proud of it.

Two years ago, as we all said goodbye to each other that night in Huntington, I realized once again that I had been a part of something special. As I walked to our car with my son he started asking me questions about the team and me. We went back to our hotel room still talking & before the lights were turned off, he said to me, "Dad, I'm proud of you." As you all know, it's not always easy to impress your kids. My son saying that to me, that night, was priceless.

I still appreciate "Butch" and all of you for being a great part of my life.

Thanks for the memories!

Sincerely-
Alynn (High Pockets)
6/25/09
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Welcome

Hello fellow Hummer alumni. We each have memories of the huge influence Glen S. Hummer had on us all. The Huntington YMCA is still conducting a continuing funding campaign for the marvelous new facility which replaces the one we all swam in and more since the team began in 1933. This space is for us to meet and/or meet up again. There were 250 at the reunion on June 16, 2007, coinciding with the newly reestablished Huntington Mile at ole Lake Clare in which many of us swam again. All are invited and welcomed to submit reminiscences here (click on "comments" in the section below.) See some of you, again we hope, at the 2010 Glen S. Hummer Huntington Masters Mile. And visit us on facebook too at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#%21/group.php?gid=100802262318&ref=ts



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Huntington YMCA Building Program

Note: To donate to the fund-raising campaign for the new YMCA (and its Hummer Pool) contact:

Dan Akeley, Executive Director, Huntington YMCA, 607 Warren St., Huntington, IN 46750, 260-356-4200, ymcadan@kconline.com

From The Herald Press12/18/06

Goal: $8 million; In hand: $5.4 million; Yet to raise: $2.6 million

It will take $8 million to build a new YMCA, and that's the amount the Y's fund-raising committee has set as its goal. With the $2 million gift from Parkview Huntington Hospital - seven acres of land worth $450,000 and a pledge of $1.55 million in cash from the hospital's Community Benefit dollars - the capital campaign committee now has $5.4 million in hand, said Dan Akeley, the YMCA's executive director.

That $5.4 million, which includes pledges that will be paid over the next five years, came in as the result of a campaign that began in May as YMCA volunteers contacted potential major donors, Akeley said. That leaves the YMCA with $2.6 million yet to raise. Some of that will come from additional major donors, Akeley said, but the Y hopes to raise $250,000 from people throughout Huntington County who are everyday users (or former users) of the facility. An effort to reach those people will begin in late January and continue until June, Akeley said. YMCA volunteers will begin with personal contacts and later use phone calls and letters to solicit donations.

From The Herald Press, 12/18/06

The inside story: Nearly double the usable space

By CINDY KLEPPER, City Editor

The new Parkview Huntington YMCA will encompass about 52,000 square feet, all on one floor, with two pools, two basketball floors, and an elevated walking track. By comparison, the current facility has about 30,000 square feet of usable space on three levels, one pool, one basketball court, and no dedicated place to walk - although it does have numerous nooks and crannies that may have had a function when the Warren street building opened in 1930, but now serve no useful purpose.

The new building was designed by Moake Park Group, a Fort Wayne-based architectural firm whose work can be seen in the Parkview Huntington Hospital building as well as the Jorgensen Family YMCA in Allen County. Moake Park's design for the Huntington YMCA was intended for a 14-acre site north of Huntington that the YMCA board originally planned to purchase, said Dan Akeley, the Y's executive director. The building and parking areas would have occupied only seven acres of that site, Akeley said, and can be moved to the Parkview site practically unchanged. "The floor plans will basically be the same," Akeley said. "It worked for both sites." The remainder of the original 14-acre site would have held a soccer field, two retention ponds, and a fitness trail. At the new site, retention ponds are already in place outside the YMCA's seven acres. Although there's no room for a soccer field, there's a possibility of additional property being made available for soccer sometime in the future. In addition to surveying members about what they wanted in a new facility, YMCA board members checked out features of other recently built YMCAs.

"We learned a lesson from the Jorgensen YMCA," Akeley said. "They have one pool, and if someone has an accident in the pool, they have to shut down the whole thing." The Huntington Y board decided to go with two pools, side by side. "If somebody has an accident, we can just shut the one pool down," Akeley said. The smaller pool will have a "zero," or sloped, entry making it accessible to people in wheelchairs and others with limited mobility. It's water will be warm enough to be comfortable for swimming and aerobics classes. The second pool will be large enough to be used by swim teams and can also be used to host meets. The gym's two basketball courts can be separated by a curtain. A fitness center will include both free weights and cardio equipment, and an adjacent aerobics/dance area will feature floating floors. A walking track, one-tenth of a mile long, will be suspended around the perimeter of the gym, fitness center, and aerobics/dance area. An expanded child watch area will be located next to two preschool rooms.