Milton K. Cummings
| Milton Kyser Cummings | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 12, 1911 Gadsden, Alabama, United States |
| Died | March 7, 1973 (aged 61) Huntsville, Alabama, United States |
| Occupation | Cotton Broker/Space-Defense Business Executive |
| Spouse(s) | Vastus Ivy Cummings |
Milton Kyser Cummings (August 12, 1911 – March 7, 1973) had a noteworthy career in two highly diverse fields: cotton broker and space-defense industry executive. Sometimes called the "Number One Citizen of Huntsville" and a "Symbol of the New South," he was recognized as a humanitarian, leader in opportunities for minorities and the handicapped, and advisor to government officials and congressmen. The Cummings Research Park, the second largest park of this type in America, was named to honor him.
Cummings was born in Gadsden, Alabama, where his father, Charles Wesley Cummings, was the superintendent of a cotton gin. The elder Cummings was a second-generation native of Huntsville, Alabama, and soon moved his family back to that city. Afflicted with osteomyelitis, Milton lost a lower leg when he was four years old. He attended school in Huntsville and, coping well with an artificial leg, became an excellent tennis player. While still in school, he worked as an errand runner in the office of a cotton broker where his father was employed. Impressed with Milton’s determination, intelligence, and handicap adjustment, the broker offered him a full scholarship to attend college as he finished high school at age 16. Feeling obliged to help support his family, he declined the offer of college but asked for employment in the brokerage firm. His father died a few years later, leaving Milton responsible for the family while still a teenager.
In his early 20s, Cummings worked in the Shelby Fletcher Brokerage firm and learned the cotton brokering business during the Great Depression. In 1936, Fletcher suddenly died and left $5,000 for Cummings in his will. Using this inheritance, at age 25 he opened a brokerage. Madison and Limestone Counties in northern Alabama were (and still are) two of the largest cotton producers in the state. Cummings soon became well known to the farmers, buying their bailed cotton and selling it to the huge spinning and weaving cotton mills in Huntsville. Respected by all of the people involved as an ‘honest broker,’ Cummings was soon the most successful cotton merchant in the region.
In 1953, Cummings became dissatisfied with cotton brokering. In his words, “I didn’t feel that President Eisenhower, Agriculture Secretary Benson, or even the American farmer really understood the agricultural problems of the day. Their policy showed they favored lower farm prices and uncontrolled production, inviting disaster for cotton, and for farmers in general.” His projection was verified by declining cotton profitability.
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