Abilene Reporter-News from Abilene, Texas • Page 89

THE ABILENE REPORTER-NEfft AMkM. ftmrfay Mtrfeinf. Fthnury M. 1M1 Gorman Schools BOC Is Youngesf Of Abilene Bonks BANK OF COMMERCE IN ABILENE newest of city's four banks Rising Star Bank On Original Site RISING STAR A there have been changes in name and changes in ownership, The First State Bank of Rising Star has been in continuous operation Since 1904. It also has the distinction of being only one of five Eastland County banks to survive the Great Depression of the early 1930s.

Further, the bank still stands on the same corner where it was first located in 1904. Change Name The bank was founded by J. G. Wilkinson of Fort Worth in 1904 as the Continental Bank and Trust Co. However, the name was changed to Continental a Bank in 1927 and to ihe First State Bank in 1934.

It was in 1934 that W. E. Tyler, now the bank's president, be- jcame its principal owner. It was rz4 years earlier that Tyler startled his career at the bank, as a Open House Heads School Week Plan ANSON (HNS)--An open house the elementary school Tuesday March 5 will feature the local observance of Public School Week, March 4-9. High school classes may be visited by interested patrons and friends of the school and the regular Lions Club luncheon will be held in the high school cafeteria at noon March 6.

Schools will be recessed March 8 to permit teachers to attend a convention at Wichita Falls. Gov. John Connally has issued a proclamation designating the week as Public Schools Week in Texss. R. G.

ERWIN First National prexy W. E. TYLER Rising Star hanker Ballinger, Bank Born on Same Day BALLINGER Ballinger'sjbank are veterans in the business. (Deposits in 1952 amounted to; dating 1 3,4 m12 as compared to of the first tbookkeeper. I His career then, :1910.

has spanned an i i V. i III IwOi. UUdllA IVt a history but the first six vears (1952 date amounted to, 5475,226.56 Presidenl Tyler has been compared lo as of! the civic affairs of Rising Starirjec. me2. through the years.

He has; served his cily as mayor, has First Nalional Bank was born M. Pearce, Ballinger druggist, the same day that the city itself, is chairman of the board of dj- was organized. That was a hot, dusty Tuesday, June 29, 1886. and has been for many years. Erwin's experience dates Iback almost 63 years while that era part of Abilene at its location Abilene's Bank of Commerce is the youngest bank in thii metropolitan center but it is the belief of its organizers that fills a definite need in the community.

Its doors were first opened for business on July 17,1958, when George Minter, who was then mayor of Abilene, cut a ribbon to mark the occasion. The bank was the first business established in the huge Westgate Shopping Center and its home; on S. Pioneer Dr. at S. 1st formerly was occupied by Magnolia Co.

district The bank opened with a capital structure of capital stock, $100,000 certified surplus and $50,000 undivided profits and with a total of 33 stockholders. Year-End DepMits Deposits at the bank at the call for a statement of condition on Dec. 28, 1962, were $5,412,370, a figure that shows the bank has ex perienced good growth in the less than four years it has been open Loans on the same date amounted to $3,241,001. Officials of Jack Hughes, the bank include chairman of the board; Walter Woodrum, president; Cleon Hamilton, executive vice president; Phil Waynick, cashier; and J. B.

Kempton aTM Pierce Monkres, assistant cash iers. Directors of the bank include Hughes, Woodrum, Omar Burleson, Raleigh Brown, Hamilton, H. HigginboUiam, and J. D. Tompkins.

Walter Woodrum, president, has een able to guide the destinies of the bank so that it has kept pace with the growth and development of Abilene and West Central Tex- s. The Bank of Commerce is strategically located to serve the west- 2 Men Assessed been president of Ihe local Chamber of Commerce, president of IheJ School Board and president of Ihei Rising Star Cooperative Other Officers I Other officers of the First State: Bank are C. R. Tyler and Jamesi Rutherford, vice, presidents: wore glvcn lwo Abllene mon Wells cashier- Mrs. 0.

R. Thursday after pleas of guilty in Mrs. Helen Jackson and Art Fish-jHMlh District Court in Anson to was on that day that the Vice President Hany Lynn goes town lots were sold to prospectors! back almost 43 years that of who had come lo Ballinger by spe-j Cashier Joe Foreman back more cial train for Ihe opening of a 40 years, new town on the Colorado River, Although born at Manor, near While the activity of buying andiAustin, on Aug. 6, 1892, Erwin ducah High in 1931 after which he rf scntcnc( selling lets was going on in the new, has resided in Ballinger since he townsite three local men, two! was two years old. He moved with from Brownvrood, and three parents, the late Mr.

and Mrs. Galvcston met in one of the J. Erwin, to Old Runnels at that road cars for the purpose of lanizin; on S. Pioneer at S. 1st St.

Paducah Native Born in Paducah in 1914, Woodrum attended the Paducah schools and graduated from Pa- WALTER WOODKUM heads BOC curity Bank. He left that inslitu tion, where he hadvisen to assist aflt cashier and auditor, in 1947 to become the cashier and. manager of the Reese Air Force Base facility at Lubbock. In 1956, he moved to Muleshoe where he president of the Muleshoe State Bank at the same time he served as president of the Celina State 'Bank. 1 Sells Siock Woodrum resigned the.

two posi- iions and sold his stock in both 58nks about a year before coming .0 Abilene as president of the Bank of Commerce. During the period of lime he was the general manager of the King Grain C6. nc. of Muleshoe. He is a member of the Wood- awn Church of Christ and he and lis wife.

Maxine, and their daugh- Paula, reside at 310 Woodrum was among a group of men here instrumental in the establishment of Western Commercial Savings and Loan Association in Abilene and is one of he owners of that organization. entered the. grocery business in his home town. In 1937, he moved to Lubbock where he was employed by a large grocery chain for Continental Cash The Continental Congress had much currency that it depre- rapidly until the now familiar expression, "Not worth a GORMAN (RNS) -i Public School Week, proclaimed by the governor for March will be observed in the Supt. W.

R. Taylor, luu an- tion in WichiU Falls. An OBM house Is ranged for Tuesday, at the elementary and huh schools, with parents Invited to Inspect the ehlldrens' work. There will be a school holiday on March to tMchwi may attend the district teachers.MtVM- A CENTURY OF COMMERCIAL, BAISTKIMG THANKS TO YOU, PEOPLE OF LORAINE, TEXAS AND MITCHELL COUNTY WE HAVE HAD 55 YEARS OF PROGRESSIVE BANKING WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO SERVING YOU IN THE FUTURE! burglary. Davis, Ballinger, a merchant am Entering the pleas were i i i first prcs ident; D.

M. Baker 18, formerly of Runnels City, cashier; Robert Smith of er. assistant cashiers. Directors are W. E.

Tyler. C. Tyler, James Rutherford, Arena, 19, of 1125 N. 16th en Jackson, Cecil Shults and Bradford A. Broadbent, B.

Jackson, 1B1B N. 7th. Both deposits and loans almost! They were charged with doubled at ihe during the Dec. 21 Burglary of Howardi Thomas Hill and Sylvan Blum, all of Gal- Within several years until he went into the First National He received his early schoolingjthe business on his own. became a metaphor Bank Organizers i i Okl Runnels and Ballinger and! His business career was inter- for sheer worthlessness.

Alexan- The organizers included W. the distinction of being one rupted in June, 1942 to go into id of the first four persons lo receive diplomas from Ballinger i School. Ballin-j During his young manhood Er-jbursing Section and it pasl decade, figures for Dec. 31, (om Hill Lake cabin belonging lo 1962, and Dec. A CENTURY OF OMMERCIAL BANKIN OUR DEEPEST A FRIENDS CUSTOMERS! FIRST STATE BANK Rising Star, Texas W.

C. Parks and Brookejwin was a cowboy and became interested in a i both of Brownwood; and having driven cattle over the trail, ing career. a trip lhat required nine days at that lime. der Hamilton insisted on a sound) the Army. During the 37 months currency and established the dol- he spent overseas in Africa as our unit of value and- was with the 24th Finance Dis-! backed it up with gold and silver, there I The bimetallic standard continued bank-'until 1873 when the free minting jof silver currency was His first position on being dis- I charged from the Army in De- Our currency's stability was ther enhanced by the passage of Began in jcember, 1945 was with the Spur Se-the Gold Standard Act of 1900.

short time the new fi-j In 1900 his father asked him nancinl institution was in opera- 1 lo come home to lake a job with tion at Bin and Hutchins Streets, the Parks Banking a just across Ihe street from present location, with a stock of $50,000. The First National Bank was consolidated with the Citizens National of Ballinger on July 11, its private bank. He started out as a capital messenger and janitor. The privale bank was nalional- ized in 1906 and took the name of.Citizens National. Then, in July, 1901), this bank and the First and among the consolidated.

Erwin be- which the First National received, 1 came president of the consoli- in the merger were two employes dated bank on Oct. 8, 1940, follow- of the Citizens Bank, Ralph G. ing the death of J. Y. Pearce, Erwin, assistant cashier, and Melvin A.

Traylor, who later was to become the president of the First National Bank of Chicago. Erwin was named cashier of the who was president at the time and who was the father of the present chairman of the board of the First National. Deposits at the First National merged banks and 31 years later as of Dec. 31, 1962, totaled president of the organize-' 172.79, the loans and discounts tion. He still retains that position.jwere $998,443.93, and the capital Other persons who have servedjstructure included $100,000 in capi- as president of the institution tal stock, $150,000 in surplus, and since its organization include Da- $323,330.28 in undivided profits, vis, one of the organizers; Dr.

J. The same figures for Dec. 31,1952, A. younger, C. A.

Doose, Tray-jinclude: deposits. lor, Tom Ward, H. Giesecke, J.jloans and discounts, Y. Pearce and Erwin. and capital stock, PROGRESS THROUGH "SERVJCE A CENTURY OF COMMERCIAL BANKING All Business Veterans of the lop officials of the surplus, and undivided profits, $15,268.42.

AT ROCHESTER President Among Bank's Founders ROCHESTER Born in the. Since leaving Ihe school room depth of the Groat Depression of'he has spent a great deal of time the 1930s, the Home Slate Bankjon the farm hut has also been of Rochester has nonetheless engaged in the garage business made satisfactory growth since President J. W. Michaels said. The bank was created on Nov 1932, when a group of seven Rochester residents purchased the old First State Bank of Rochester The first board of directors included H.

F. Mullino, the first president, W. 7.. Wadzeck, .1. Hester, P.

H. Bcttis, J. Mansell, Allen Bell and Michaels. Deposits on c'n i day amounted lo $85,981.34 while thc loans at that time amounted to $48,942.73. The deposits had in- Icreased lo $1,193,145.41 and 1 the loans had grown to $163,469.04 by Dec.

31, 1952, and were $1,363,100.78 and $780,395.51, respectively, on 28, 19R2. Michaels, one of the founders, has. been serving as prwident since Sept. 13, 1961. Thc president has been a rest I dent of Rochester since 1907 but is a native of Tennessee.

He came to Texas wilh his family in 1900. He was educated in thc Rochester schools and sntdunled from the local high Mhool In since 1922. He and his wife, Bessie Delle, have three children, Tommy, bookkeeper in the bank at Has- kcll; Bonnie, who is taking special courses at Abilene Christian College, Hardin Simmons University and an Abilene business college; and Jerila Bess, who is a junior in Rochester High School. Michaels served on the Rochester City Council for 30 years Init is not a member of that body at Ws time. He has been active inj civic work in his community, including assistance with Red and Boy Scout fund drives.

The family attends the Churdt, of Christ. Other officers of thc nclude, Mullino, vice president; Earl Alvis, vice president and cashier; and Don Adkins, as- Distant cashier. Directors of the bank are Mi-! chads, Mullino, Bell, W. P. Rus-ll ell, A.

Shaver E. Hob Smith, 0. B. Ratliff, C. Hum- PROGRESS AND GROWTH FOR 59 YEARS, THANKS TO OUR FINE FRIENDS AND CUSTOMERS OF BRECKENRIDGE, TEXAS AND STEPHENS COUNTY! CUR DEEPEST GRATITUDE! FIRST NATIONAL BANK BRECKENRIDGE, TEXAS MIMICR F.D.I.C.

phrcy urn) Burl Alvis..