Some Memoirs of a Country Banker

SOME MEMOIRS OF A COUNTRY BANKER By H J Dorweiler In 1906 Anna and I were married and we started a family in Iowa. About that time my right foot gave me periods of trouble. Swelling and exceedingly painful during that year, this kept getting worse and the spells lasted longer. In 1912 I had it operated on by Dr. Murphy of Chicago after examination at Rochester and Iowa City Hospital without results. It was diagnosed as osteomyelitis. This resulted in a period of about five years without any spells during which time we bought a dairy farm in Wisconsin. However, in 1917 it flared up again and again. I had an operation in Chicago. The results were not so good for after that I never walked a step without pain, and in 1919 it became so acute that I decided on amputation which was consummated in October of 1919. About that time brother L.C. had started a bank in Hamel, Minnesota, and wrote me that he was not satisfied with the man he had in charge and asked whether I would consider taking the post. After some serious consideration I decided that it would probably be best for myself and my family. I discontinued farming and took up L.C.’s proposition. However, I had not realized what I was getting myself in for, as the bank replaced one that had failed and destroyed the confidence of the public. Hence it is memories of this experience of which I write. The only banking experience I had was handling my own checking account and that of a cheese factory of which I was Secretary-Treasurer. I had no idea of the task ahead when the entire community had been adversely affected by the failure of the earlier bank. I was checked in on April 1, 1920 and was alone with one girl who also had only a few months experience. We were with strangers here and did not know anyone. So if we asked someone in confidence about a customer chances were that we were asking about a relative of his. Therefore, I had to be extremely cautious and exercise my own best judgment and intuition. There were many tragic times as well as amusing incidents. It was a daily occurrence to hear someone tell how much they lost in the old bank and had no confidence anymore. In most instances the amounts were greatly exaggerated and facts distorted although there also were many fair and conscientious people among them. It was amusing to have some fellow tell of the large sums he lost in the bank and then see a ten percent dividend check in the amount of $25 or $35. In face of this destroyed confidence and the fact that all were strangers, we naturally had to do a lot of missionary work and solicitations. One incident was especially amusing as I had solicited a man for his business, and he assured me that as soon as he got over the severe blow the bank failure had dealt him he would open an account with us. For months after that he came into the bank and would tell me the same thing and at the same time we handled a number of his checks on a neighboring bank and my assistant used to tell me how he was making a fool of me and asked 1 why I did not call him on it. I assured her that I was abiding my time for the right opportunity. I had not long to wait for soon after that I had cashed one of his checks and put it in the drawer. When he came in with his cream check and gave me the usual story I asked him whether there was another man in the area by the same name, and he assured me that there was not. Then I took out his check and said if I were you I would look into this. Some so and so has been forging your checks. He turned several colors and left, but within a month he opened an account which we had until he died. The former Vice President of the bank that had failed was one of the principal business men in the community. He used to make a practice of coming in when the assistant was posting (in those days by hand) and on pretense of looking at his own account he would turn to the account of some one who owed him on account, and as we later found out would tell them they could pay up as they had so much in the bank. This we had to stop so I instructed the assistant that when he came in she should fold her arms over the depositor’s ledger and ask him whether he wanted to see his own account or all the others. We could not divulge any more information than on his own account as all accounts were confidential. After a few weeks he knew that we would not give out any information on anyone’s business and this became quite well known to all our customers. Nearly all the new residents of the community accepted us. It was the old residents that remained suspicious the longest. So the complaints about the old bank failure gradually faded out. Although, even to this day, 46 years later, we hear someone tell about how much he lost. An amusing incident about the bank failure was that about a simple couple who had heard that the bank ‘busted’. They came to town and walked all around the old building and then asked where the bank had busted as they could not see it. In many instances intuition came to our aid. On one occasion a middle-aged man came in just before closing time and informed me that he just came from the employment agency to take up a job on one of the larger farms and named the farmer, one I knew quite well. He advised me that he had a $50.00 deposit in a bank in the state of Washington and would like to transfer it to this bank as he might be in need of a few dollars before his first pay day. So I wrote out a check (made over from our counter check) and as I was preparing the deposit slip I suddenly wondered whether this was all on the up and up. So I decided it better to play safe. I told him that at present I could give him a duplicate deposit ticket and issue his passbook and a checkbook when we received confirmation of his deposit. I so noted the deposit ticket and in due time received notice that there was no bank in the town he named. Several weeks later I saw 2 an item in the newspaper where the same procedure was taken further West of here and after the bank issued a passbook the depositor went to the local store and said he needed some cash and as the bank was closed he would have to pay by check showing the merchant his passbook. After a few years these incidents became fewer and fewer and everybody accepted us with the exception of a very few who became less and less skeptical. One customer who occasionally drank quite heavily came in half loaded and proceeded to bawl us out. He wanted his passbook balanced. I had the assistant balance his book, and he had a balance of $1.82. As his conduct became more intolerable, I asked him to draw this out and close his account. He replied, “I want to look over this book first you Dutch So and So.” I waited a few days and as I did not hear from him I sent him a cashier’s check for the $1.82 and told him we closed his account. Within a year after that I ran out of gas with my car twice and each time within fifty yards of his place and had to get gas from him. After about another year he came in and asked me whether he could open an account here again. I assured him he could and was welcome, provided he would be civil in his talk when he came in. He still has his account here even though he has moved out of our immediate territory. Many of our present friends told me that when I came here they figured I would not last more than three years at the most, but I have outlived a great majority of them and am still here after 46 years and their offspring are, in many instances, some of our most valued customers. One of the problems confronting me was to form a loaning policy. As I said before I was a total stranger here and the community population was inter-related so I did not know whom I could confer with as to the integrity of anyone. Fortunately, at that time it was strictly a farming community largely engaged in dairying. As I was just off a dairy farm I was at least dealing with people engaged in an endeavor with which I was quite familiar. In talking with anyone as to their policies, I could form a fairly accurate opinion as to whether they were likely to succeed or not. However, I was very cautious in loans and it paid off well as I was not hurt in the early 1920’s. In making loans many amusing incidents would come up.

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