Is the reason you don't like ORM tools because they have a runtime license fee? Check out well-documented open source tools like Hibernate and/or Spring. There are others as well. None of these have licensing fees.
Otherwise you can communicate with your database through JDBC and try to roll your own persistence layer. However this route becomes needlessly complex in a big hurry. In fact, it is really a separate project all on its own.
If you do go this way make sure your design stays flexible.
Generating DAOs directly from your database schema provides a quick solution that is also a sustainable long term Java architecture that can evolve as Java persistence technologies change. You can find an example of how to do this here: http://www.codefutures.com/products/firestorm/
You seem to dislike the concept of ORM. Don't get too caught up on the specific technologies involved. That changes all the time and what's popular now may seem a poor choice later. Concentrate on the architecture.