March 29, 2024

Hummel to preside as parade grand marshal

Don Hummel just turned 90 years old, but don’t tell anyone. Hummel joked about keeping his age a secret during a recent interview, but that would be as tough to keep under wraps as it would be to make a secret out of how widely respected and liked he is in Newton.

The World War II veteran, longtime Maytag employee and former owner of Cliff’s Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge is many other things to his community, and soon he can add 2015 City of Newton Fourth of July parade marshal to his long list of life achievements.

Hummel received a written invitation to serve as a grand marshal of this year’s parade by Greater Newton Chamber of Commerce board members at a recent celebration of his 90th birthday. He said he was caught off guard by the invitation. “I thought ‘Holy mackerel,’” Hummel said.

“I was overwhelmed. So many other great people have served in that role through the years.”

Hummel said his wife, Betty, isn’t in the best of health, and may or may not “give it the old college try” and ride in the parade along with Don. Jeff Maki, the oldest of Don and Betty’s grandsons, will be his driver, and Jeff Hummel, one of the couple’s sons, will be the “co-pilot.”

The couple will undoubtedly be waving to at least a few family members during the parade. They raised all seven of their children in Newton, and have 17 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren, plus one great grandchild on the way.

Hummel said he’s honored to fulfill a role that’s regarded as also sort of lifetime achievement award for contributing to Newton. He said he’s sad that many who helped build the community into what it has become today are no longer around to participate in events like Fourth of July parades.

“I’ve outlived a lot of them,” Hummel said. “So many are gone. We didn’t always agree on everything, but if you needed help, your Newton neighbors were the best kind of friends you could have.”

Chamber Director Craig Light said there were about 30 nominations submitted for this year’s parade marshal, and more than 20 were nominations for Hummel. He said that made him an easy choice.

Recent parade marshals were Helen Grosvenor in 2014 and Junior Ekins in 2013.

One of the nominations emailed to the chamber says Hummel still gets around town better than some of his peers, and uses his mobility to comfort and bond with others.

“On any day of the week, you can find him visiting one of our nursing homes in Newton, just stopping by to say ‘hi,’” the nomination reads. “In fact, Don can be found talking to people all over Newton. It seems that he knows everyone. As always, he continues to be a pillar in the community that he loves.”

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com