J. Elwood and Bernadine Hummer’s wedding almost didn’t go off as planned. They were scheduled to get married in the garden at her mother’s house in Woodsboro. But it rained most of the day.
“It was pouring and we were going to transfer it to the church,” Elwood Hummer said. “But it stopped long enough so we could get married in the garden.”
The date was Aug 16, 1940, and the two have been married almost 75 years. They recently won the Marriage Resource Center of Frederick County’s Award for being the longest married couple in the county. The two will be honored at the group’s banquet on Nov. 13 at the Walkersville Fire Hall.
Elwood is 96 years old and his wife is 94. They have two sons Doug, 72, and Bob, 68, one grandchild and one great-granddaughter.
The two have lived in the same house located not far from McCurdy Field in Frederick for 73 years, moving there on May 30, 1942.
Both are alert although physically although they have had some problems lately. Bernadine had three operations last year and was in the hospital for 38 days. Elwood hoped to have knee surgery, but because of his age the doctor considered it too much of a risk. He recently put in a chair lift for his wife to get up the stairs. She has had leg, knee and back problems.
Elwood had taken care of their garden for years, but recently it got to be too much and he hired someone else to do it. Both drive and Elwood does the shopping.
“When I tell people I am 96 they are startled,” he said. They have no plans to move. “We plan to be carried from here, we like it too much,” Bernadine said.
Asked the secret of their long marriage, Elwood had a quick answer.
“I would say communication,” he said. “All marriages have bumpy roads, but you can iron them out with communication.”
His wife agreed, adding they usually did what her husband wanted. They are both from Frederick County. Elwood was born in Walkersville on Dec. 1, 1918 and his wife in Woodsboro on Dec. 28, 1920. They still go to church in Walkersville.
They have known each other since high school and Elwood has a special memory of seeing her at a skating rink in Woodsboro when they were young.
“She had on a red coat and I thought that was attractive,” he said.
Elwood worked for Frederick Iron and Steel for 49 1/2 years. His wife had several jobs when she was younger, but became a full-time housewife when her boys were born.
A big part of their life has been baseball. Elwood played baseball in high school and with several county league teams. He then played semi-pro baseball with Frederick Hustlers from 1938 until 1955. The Hustlers were an independent team that played teams from all over this area. He also managed a Little League team for about seven years.
One of the reasons they live in their house is because of its location.
“I played a lot of baseball at McCurdy Field,” Elwood said. “My wife said this is a nice house near the ballpark, why don’t we buy it.”
Bernadine said she would look out the window when Doug was young and wait for the lights to go off at McCurdy Field.
“When the lights went out, I would tell Doug, ‘Dad will be home soon,’” she recalled.
Elwood said a minor league scout once talked with him, but the scout told him he didn’t have the arm to play pro ball. In 1941 the Frederick Hustlers went to the Nationals in Wichita, Kansas, and finished seventh in the nation.
“We got married on Aug 16, 1940 and on our first wedding anniversary I went to Wichita,” he said. “That wasn’t very bright.”
But his greatest baseball memory involves the legendary Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack. During World War II the Athletics had spring training at McCurdy Field and played the Hustlers. Hummer was in center field during one of those games when a ball was hit over his head with two out in the ninth.
“I ran back and caught it with my bare hand,” he said. “Everyone in the stands stood up and clapped. Connie Mack was standing there when I came in and said that was one of the greatest catches I’ve seen in baseball.”
His wife went to many games.
“I love baseball,” she said. “We still watch all of the (Baltimore) Orioles games.”
Like many people his age, Hummer went into the Navy during World War II. But he was stationed at the United States Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, which is near Port Deposit.
“You two are delightful,” said Christine Bugher, executive director of the Marriage Resource Center. She and center member Bob Donk visited the Hummers recently.
“You have such spirit. You are the role model for what a long-term marriage can look like.”
