Frank was in the first Taft graduation class of 1940. He was on the staff of the Taft Tribune writing the “Penstabs” column and sports events reports. He was on
the swim and baseball teams. If records were kept, they would show he had Taft’s first extra base hit and the first two RBIs.
After graduation, and with the backing of Principal Hoeffer, he founded the Taft Alumni Association and was elected its
first president. Frank joined the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor,
teaching
aeronautics at Navy Pier, and serving two years in the Pacific. Unfortunately,
the young TAA was forced to disband due to the war efforts.
Frank attended photography school and opened Cam-Tech Camera Repairs, a Chicago
business for 45 years. He retired in 1990 with his wife, Jane Jewell
(Class of
June 1943), to the Indiana Dunes area, continuing the business part-time while
writing
technical and news articles and children’s stories. He was honored for his
volunteer work at the Indiana National Lakeshore.
When the new TAA was reorganized in 1984, Frank donated his time to help plan Taft’s
50th Anniversary and organize the 1940’s display room.