Ms. Cummings serves as a Foster Grandparent volunteer in the infant classroom at Maurice Kirby Child Care Center. She enjoys spending time with the babies and treasures the sweet things they do. When she is not playing with one of the babies, she is making seasonal decorations for the classroom. She has made three-dimensional bird cages to hang from the ceiling in the nursery, and seasonal door and window decorations for the classroom. She is pictured to the right with one of the children and a Thanksgiving turkey she made for the classroom windows. Ms. Cummings grew up in Bristol, Virginia with one older sister. After her birth-father was killed in an accident, an older couple saw her birth-mother struggling and asked if they could take care of the two girls. Ms. Cummings and her sister went to live with Erika and William Brown. It was a wonderful home and the couple became their “mother and father.” Her mother taught her many things—be a good and kind person, stand up for yourself, be optimistic, expect the best and don’t judge people. Her mother valued a well-rounded education and during the days of segregated schools, she would make arrangements for the two girls to attend plays and musicals at the local all-white school. Ms. Cummings took piano lessons, was involved in girl scouts and sang in the junior choir of her church. Sadly, her mother died when she was eleven years old and even though her grandmother stayed with them one year, her father realized the girls would benefit from attending boarding school with other young women. They went to Swift Memorial Junior College in Rogersville, Tennessee. Swift was a world-renowned Presbyterian school for blacks operated from 1883 to 1955. The school provided an education to students from Tennessee and other areas including New York and Chicago. Ms. Cummings attended this school from the 8th grade through two years of junior college. One of her favorite school memories was the annual Easter celebration that all students were required to attend. They gathered at 5:00 a.m. on Easter morning and climbed a nearby mountain and had a mountaintop sunrise Easter service. It was at a dance and concert in Chattanooga featuring the now-famous Fats Domino that Ms. Cummings met her future husband-- thanks to her older sister who introduced them. The couple had four children and were married twenty-two years before he was killed in an auto accident. Before retiring, Ms. Cummings spent many years working as a dental assistant. She was initially hired to perform custodial duties, such as cleaning office floors and bathrooms, but shortly thereafter was asked to start training as a dental assistant. In the 1950’s she was one of only two black dental assistants in Chattanooga. After her children were older, she returned to this profession and took a six-month dental assisting course at the Hamilton County Health Department and became state certified. Chandra Smith, teacher at Maurice Kirby Child Care Center, says Ms. Cummings is a great help in the classroom. She reads books to the children and gently talks and sings to them when they are getting ready for nap time. Her kind and tender-hearted attitude is apparent to all and is an inspiration to the staff and families at Maurice Kirby Child Care Center.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 02:00:01 +0000