Russell B. Cummings
Encyclopedia
Russell Bennett Cummings (October 6, 1925 – April 18, 2008) was a Democratic
member of the Texas House of Representatives
from District 22 in Harris County
from 1967 to 1971, who is best known for having worked for passage of the state's open meetings and open beaches laws. He lost his bid for a third term in the 1970 general election
to Republican
A. Sidney Bowers, III. According to the Houston Chronicle
, Cummings was a "Democrat living in a Republican-leaning district. [But] his "legislative record was conservative enough to have satisfied conservative Republicans."
In that same election, Republican U.S. Representative George H. W. Bush
lost his celebrated race against Lloyd Bentsen
, for the United States Senate
seat vacated by Ralph W. Yarborough, whom Bentsen had defeated in the Democratic primary
.
, Parks and Wildlife, Transportation, House Administration, and Penitentiary
committees. He was vice chairman of the Public Education Committee. His legislative tenure corresponded with the first two terms of Governor
John Connally
.
in Houston to Glen Souter Cummings and the former Florella Vera. He was descended from William Cummings, one of the three hundred families originally settled in Texas by Stephen F. Austin
. His mother was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution
. Cummings attended Woodrow Wilson
Elementary and Sidney Lanier
Middle schools and graduated at the age of sixteen in 1942 from Mirabeau B. Lamar Senior High School. He then attended Lon Morris College
, a Methodist-affiliated junior college
in Jacksonville
in east Texas for the spring semester of 1943. He and an older brother, Glenn Malcolm Cummings, thereafter joined the United States Merchant Marine
Cadet Corps. Cummings recalled having marched down Canal Street in New Orleans during the Armistice Day
parade on November 11, 1943. In New Orleans just after Christmas 1943, Cummings boarded his first ship, the S.S. Delmar, built at Hog Island, Pennsylvania. In 1945, he graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point
on Long Island
, New York
, having procured a license to sail as a Third Officer on any merchant ship in any ocean and a commission as an ensign
in the United States Naval Reserve.
After the war, Cummings attended the University of Texas at Austin
and the University of Houston
and accumulated enough semester hours to earn a bachelor of science
degree in transportation. On June 25, 1949, at the First Methodist Church of Houston, Cummings married the former Dorothy Hensley (born August 23, 1929, in Newnan
, Georgia
), a receptionist
and switchboard operator
. The couple had two children, David Malcolm Cummings (born 1950) and Karen Ann Cummings Garrett (born 1952), and two grandsons, Russell Bennett Lang and Carl Thompson Norwood.
and in 1960 was elected president of the chapter. Thereafter, he was appointed chairman of the Jaycees Americanism Committee, which sponsored the first "Old Fashion Fourth of July Celebration" was held at Hermann Park
in Houston, with a fireworks show, military band, patriotic speaker, and American flags. The Jaycees expected possibly 1,500 people, but 35,000 appeared and created what Cummings remembered as "a terrific traffic jam." He was thereafter appointed a director of the full Houston Chamber of Commerce
and of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
, then called the "Fat Stock" Show. In 1963, the Jaycees named Cummings "Outstanding Public Official" in Harris County.
at Richmond and Montrose streets in Houston. In 1956, he launched a moving and storage business. He was vice president of the Houston chapter of the Texas Service Station Association and the Houston Movers Association and the president of the Richwood Civic Club. The Cummingses lived in Richwood from 1955 to 1973, when he became executive director of the Texas Mass Transportation Commission, which merged into the Texas Department of Transportation
. He hence relocated to Austin
.
Cummings retired from state employment in 1993. In the fall of 1994, he relocated to his ranch between Hamilton
(Hamilton County) and Goldthwaite
(Mills County
) in central Texas, where he raised Brangus
cattle. "Our ranch was the third one in Texas to be certified as a "Texas Quality Beef Producer" by the Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers Association," Cummings wrote in his self-penned obituary in the Austin American-Statesman
.
at the age of eighty-two at his residence in Waco
, the seat of McLennan County
. He was survived by his wife, the former Dorothy Hensley (born August 23, 1929), and two children, David Malcolm Cummings and Karen Ann Cummings Garrett. Cummings is interred at the Texas State Cemetery
in Austin
. Since 1851, soldiers and founders of the Republic of Texas
and the state itself as well as elected officials, jurists, and others who have made "a significant contribution to Texas history, government, and culture" have been interred in the state cemetery.
Cummings is honored through the Russell Cummings Nursing Scholarship at McLennan Community College
in Waco.
Not along after Cummings' death, his former House colleague, Joseph Hugh Allen
of Baytown
, also expired. Allen too is interred in Texas State Cemetery.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
from District 22 in Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
from 1967 to 1971, who is best known for having worked for passage of the state's open meetings and open beaches laws. He lost his bid for a third term in the 1970 general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
to Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
A. Sidney Bowers, III. According to the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
, Cummings was a "Democrat living in a Republican-leaning district. [But] his "legislative record was conservative enough to have satisfied conservative Republicans."
In that same election, Republican U.S. Representative George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
lost his celebrated race against Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. was a four-term United States senator from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate...
, for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seat vacated by Ralph W. Yarborough, whom Bentsen had defeated in the Democratic primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
.
Legislative record
In addition to his open meetings and beaches legislation, Cummings procured the passage of legislation to allow public school districts to provide taxpayer-funded kindergartens. He fell short in his attempt to provide a life sentence without parole for certain violent crimes committed with a firearm. Cummings obtained passage of a bill supported by the interest group, the Texas Nurses Association, which formalized professional practices. He obtained the first "work release program that authorized non-violent criminals to work outdoors, a measured supported by the Texas Fish Farmers Association. Cummings served on the House AppropriationsAppropriation (law)
In law and government, appropriation is the act of setting apart something for its application to a particular usage, to the exclusion of all other uses....
, Parks and Wildlife, Transportation, House Administration, and Penitentiary
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
committees. He was vice chairman of the Public Education Committee. His legislative tenure corresponded with the first two terms of Governor
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
John Connally
John Connally
John Bowden Connally, Jr. , was an influential American politician, serving as the 39th governor of Texas, Secretary of the Navy under President John F. Kennedy, and as Secretary of the Treasury under President Richard M. Nixon. While he was Governor in 1963, Connally was a passenger in the car in...
.
Early years, family, education, military
Cummings was born in the previous Methodist HospitalThe Methodist Hospital
The Methodist Hospital is a hospital located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Established in 1919 as an outreach ministry of The United Methodist Church, Methodist is one of the most comprehensive teaching hospitals in the United States, with leading specialists in every field of...
in Houston to Glen Souter Cummings and the former Florella Vera. He was descended from William Cummings, one of the three hundred families originally settled in Texas by Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...
. His mother was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
. Cummings attended Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
Elementary and Sidney Lanier
Sidney Lanier
Sidney Lanier was an American musician and poet.-Biography:Sidney Lanier was born February 3, 1842, in Macon, Georgia, to parents Robert Sampson Lanier and Mary Jane Anderson; he was mostly of English ancestry. His distant French Huguenot ancestors immigrated to England in the 16th century...
Middle schools and graduated at the age of sixteen in 1942 from Mirabeau B. Lamar Senior High School. He then attended Lon Morris College
Lon Morris College
Lon Morris College is a private junior college located in Jacksonville, Texas, United States, and is the only school affiliated with the United Methodist Church that is owned by an individual conference and not the denomination as a whole...
, a Methodist-affiliated junior college
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
in Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Texas
Jacksonville is located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,868 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Jacksonville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Cherokee County and part of the larger Tyler-Jacksonville Combined Statistical...
in east Texas for the spring semester of 1943. He and an older brother, Glenn Malcolm Cummings, thereafter joined the United States Merchant Marine
United States Merchant Marine
The United States Merchant Marine refers to the fleet of U.S. civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine is...
Cadet Corps. Cummings recalled having marched down Canal Street in New Orleans during the Armistice Day
Armistice Day
Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...
parade on November 11, 1943. In New Orleans just after Christmas 1943, Cummings boarded his first ship, the S.S. Delmar, built at Hog Island, Pennsylvania. In 1945, he graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point
Kings Point, New York
Kings Point is a village and a part of Great Neck in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the village population was 5,005.The Village of Kings Point is in the Town of North Hempstead...
on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, having procured a license to sail as a Third Officer on any merchant ship in any ocean and a commission as an ensign
Ensign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
in the United States Naval Reserve.
After the war, Cummings attended the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
and the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
and accumulated enough semester hours to earn a bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in transportation. On June 25, 1949, at the First Methodist Church of Houston, Cummings married the former Dorothy Hensley (born August 23, 1929, in Newnan
Newnan, Georgia
Newnan is a city in Coweta County, Georgia, about 30 miles southwest of Atlanta. The population was 16,242 at the 2000 Census. Newnan is one of the fastest growing cities in Georgia, with an estimated population of 27,097 in 2006 and 33,293 in July 2008...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
), a receptionist
Receptionist
A receptionist is an employee taking an office/administrative support position. The work is usually performed in a waiting area such as a lobby or front office desk of an organization or business...
and switchboard operator
Switchboard operator
In the early days of telephony, through roughly the 1960s, companies used manual telephone switchboards and switchboard operators connected each call by inserting a pair of phone plugs into the appropriate jacks. Each pair of plugs was part of a cord circuit with a switch associated that let the...
. The couple had two children, David Malcolm Cummings (born 1950) and Karen Ann Cummings Garrett (born 1952), and two grandsons, Russell Bennett Lang and Carl Thompson Norwood.
Jaycees president
Cummings joined the Houston Jaycees, or United States Junior ChamberUnited States Junior Chamber
The United States Junior Chamber is a leadership training and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 41. Areas of emphasis are business development, management skills, individual training, community service, and international connections. The U.S...
and in 1960 was elected president of the chapter. Thereafter, he was appointed chairman of the Jaycees Americanism Committee, which sponsored the first "Old Fashion Fourth of July Celebration" was held at Hermann Park
Hermann Park
Hermann Park is one of Houston's most-visited public parks. Situated between Fannin Street and Cambridge Street, it is within walking distance from the Texas Medical Center, Rice University, and the Museum District, and within a few miles of the Third Ward, the historic Astrodome and Reliant Stadium...
in Houston, with a fireworks show, military band, patriotic speaker, and American flags. The Jaycees expected possibly 1,500 people, but 35,000 appeared and created what Cummings remembered as "a terrific traffic jam." He was thereafter appointed a director of the full Houston Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
and of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston, is the world's largest live entertainment and livestock exhibition. It also includes the richest regular-season rodeo event. It has been held at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, since 2003...
, then called the "Fat Stock" Show. In 1963, the Jaycees named Cummings "Outstanding Public Official" in Harris County.
Business activities
Cummings formerly operated a service stationFilling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
at Richmond and Montrose streets in Houston. In 1956, he launched a moving and storage business. He was vice president of the Houston chapter of the Texas Service Station Association and the Houston Movers Association and the president of the Richwood Civic Club. The Cummingses lived in Richwood from 1955 to 1973, when he became executive director of the Texas Mass Transportation Commission, which merged into the Texas Department of Transportation
Texas Department of Transportation
The Texas Department of Transportation is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Texas. Its stated mission is to "work cooperatively to provide safe, effective and efficient movement of people and goods" throughout the state...
. He hence relocated to Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
.
Cummings retired from state employment in 1993. In the fall of 1994, he relocated to his ranch between Hamilton
Hamilton, Texas
Hamilton is a city in Hamilton County in Central Texas. The population was 3,095 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Hamilton County.-Geography:Hamilton is located at ....
(Hamilton County) and Goldthwaite
Goldthwaite, Texas
Goldthwaite is a small city located in Mills County in Central Texas. The population was 1,802 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mills County, which is named for John T. Mills, a justice of the Supreme Court for the Third, Seventh, and Eighth districts of the former Republic of Texas....
(Mills County
Mills County, Texas
Mills County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. In 2000, its population was 5,151. Mills County is named for John T. Mills, a justice of the Texas Supreme Court...
) in central Texas, where he raised Brangus
Brangus
A Brangus is a hardy and popular breed of beef cattle, a cross between an Angus and a Brahman. An animal eligible for registration as a Brangus cattle is 5/8 Angus and 3/8 Brahman. -History:...
cattle. "Our ranch was the third one in Texas to be certified as a "Texas Quality Beef Producer" by the Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers Association," Cummings wrote in his self-penned obituary in the Austin American-Statesman
Austin American-Statesman
The Austin American-Statesman is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is an award-winning publication owned by Cox Enterprises. The Newspaper places focus on issues affecting Austin and the Central Texas region....
.
Death and burial
Cummings died of cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at the age of eighty-two at his residence in Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, the seat of McLennan County
McLennan County, Texas
McLennan County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. In 2000, its population was 213,517; in 2008 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated its population to be 230,213. Its seat is Waco. The county is named for Neil McLennan, an early settler....
. He was survived by his wife, the former Dorothy Hensley (born August 23, 1929), and two children, David Malcolm Cummings and Karen Ann Cummings Garrett. Cummings is interred at the Texas State Cemetery
Texas State Cemetery
The Texas State Cemetery is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, the capital of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and Vice-President of the Republic of Texas, it was expanded into a Confederate cemetery during the Civil War...
in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. Since 1851, soldiers and founders of the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
and the state itself as well as elected officials, jurists, and others who have made "a significant contribution to Texas history, government, and culture" have been interred in the state cemetery.
Cummings is honored through the Russell Cummings Nursing Scholarship at McLennan Community College
McLennan Community College
McLennan Community College is a community college partially funded by the taxpayers of McLennan County, Texas. Located in Waco, Texas, it opened in 1965. MCC now serves about 9,000 students and has more than 700 employees. It is governed by a Board of Trustees elected from single-member...
in Waco.
Not along after Cummings' death, his former House colleague, Joseph Hugh Allen
Joseph Hugh Allen
Joseph Hugh Allen was a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives from the industrial city of Baytown, who fought for ethics reform...
of Baytown
Baytown, Texas
Baytown is a city within Harris County and partially in Chambers County in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. state of Texas. Located within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, it lies along both State Highway 146 and Interstate 10. As of 2010, Baytown had an population of 71,802...
, also expired. Allen too is interred in Texas State Cemetery.