The JayCees

[bonanova]

Jane, Janice, Jack, Jasper, and Jim are five high-school chums. Their last names are, in some order, Carter, Carver, Clark, Clayton, and Cramer. What are their full names? Here are some clues.

1. Jasper's mom is deceased.
2. In deference to an influential family member, the Claytons agreed that if they ever had a daughter they would name her Janice.
3. Jane's parents have never met Jack's parents.
4. The Cramer and Carter children have been teammates on several of the school's athletic teams.
5. When he heard that Carver was going to out of town on the night of the school's Father and Son banquet, Cramer called Mrs. Carver and offered to "adopt" her son for the evening. But Jack's father had already asked him to go.
6. The Clarks and Carters, staunch Republicans who are very good friends, were delighted when their children began dating each other.

[rocdocmac]

Having a stab at this to get the ball rolling ...

Jane Cramer

Janice Carter

Jack Clark

Jasper Clayton

Jim Carver

[flamebirde]

I agree with RocDocMac. Justification given below.

Spoiler

Carver is male (Jack offers to "adopt" the Carver's son for the banquet), and is not Jasper (since Jasper's mother has passed away, but the Carver mother answered the phone): therefore Carver must be Jack or Jim. But Carver also cannot be Jack, since Jack's father asked the Carvers to go to the Father Son banquet with the Carver son, implying they are two different families. Therefore, it must be Jim Carver. (This assumes that Jasper's father has not remarried.)

"The Clarks and Carters, staunch Republicans who are very good friends..." implies to me that both Carter parents and both Clark parents are still alive (since one would not say "the Clarks" or "The Carters" if only one Clark/Carter parent is still alive), and therefore Jasper is neither Clark nor Carter. Therefore, Jasper must be either a Clayton or a Cramer. I will assume that Jasper is a Cramer.

Clark and Carter have opposite genders, or else their staunchly Republican parents would be unhappy, and the parents know each other.

If Jasper is a Cramer, then Jack must be either Clark or Carter, and dating Janice. If he is a Carter, than Jane cannot be a Clark, and vice versa (he is the only male unassigned). If he were a Carter, then he must be dating Janice Clark, leaving Jane Clayton (if they were dating then the parents know each other, and Jack and Jane's parents have never met). But wait: the Claytons would name a daughter "Janice"; therefore this cannot be the case. If Jack is instead a Clark, then he must be dating Janice Carter, which again leaves a Jane Clayton, again an impossibility. Therefore, Jasper cannot be a Cramer, and must be a Clayton.

If this is the case, then Jack and Janice are dating and hence Jane must be neither a Carter or a Clark, making her a Cramer. Since Jack and Jane's parents have never met, Jack must be a Clark, and Janice a Carter (who has played on the same athletic teams as Jane).

Hence: Jim Carver, Jasper Clayton, Jane Cramer, Jack Clark, and Janice Carter are the solutions to the puzzle.

[Thalia]

 

Jane Cramer
Janice Carter
Jack Clayton
Jasper Carver
Jim Clark

Edited December 6, 2019 by Thalia

[Thalia]

I think I mixed Carver and Carter at some point along the way. Please ignore that guess.

[harey]

On 12/7/2019 at 8:21 PM, flamebirde said:

 

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The Clarks and Carters, staunch Republicans who are very good friends..." implies to me that both Carter parents and both Clark parents are still alive (since one would not say "the Clarks" or "The Carters" if only one Clark/Carter parent is still alive), and therefore Jasper is neither Clark nor Carter. Therefore, Jasper must be either a Clayton or a Cramer. I will assume that Jasper is a Cramer.

In the same way, you exclude that Jasper is a Clayton:

2. In deference to an influential family member, the Claytons agreed that if they ever had a daughter they would name her Janice.

[flamebirde]

22 hours ago, harey said:

In the same way, you exclude that Jasper is a Clayton:

2. In deference to an influential family member, the Claytons agreed that if they ever had a daughter they would name her Janice.

I didn't make that connection, primarily because I assume that Jasper is male and hence that clue couldn't be used here (I wasn't sure about the gender of the name, but google says predominantly male).

[harey]

It is not because of the gender. the Claytons indicates that Mrs Clayton is still alive and Jasper's mom is deceased. Therefore, Jasper is not a Clayton.