Congratulations on 100 Years

Bank changes and grows with town

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

— For more than half a century, the Bank of Pea Ridge stood resolutely downtown, meeting the needs of its customers, staying open despite three burglaries and the Great Depression.

As the face and needs of the community changed, so did the bank. After a move and renovation - and the passage of 100 years - the bank continues to meet the needs of its customers with modern technology.

In the early days, most customers arrived by foot, by buggy or possibly by Model T or Model A; there was no need for a large parking lot. Hours were 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the bank was closed for an hour in the middle of the day for lunch. Agriculture was the main industry of the townspeople, fueled by a thriving apple industry.

In a sign of how things have changed, a large paved parking lot, several drive-through teller windows, an automated teller machine, and other modern technological amenities, are integral parts of the bank that’s a mile south of its original location and has been remodeled and then rebuilt to continue to meet the needs of the growing community.

The Bank of Pea Ridge was chartered in 1911. Founding fathers met in a room of the school, then located across the street from where the bank would be located downtown. After 57 years, the bank moved to its present location on the northeast corner of North Curtis Avenue and Lee Town Road. There, it was expanded and then later razed and rebuilt.

In 1968, Earle and Billie Jines, publisher and editor of the Pea Ridge Graphic respectively, recounted the history of the bank.

Nearly two decades later, in 1986, for the 75th anniversary of the bank, The Times of Northeast Benton County - lead by publisher Mary Lou Beisner and editor E. Calvin Beisner - published a special edition for the bank’s anniversary, republishing many of Jones’ articles.

Jines recalled visiting with Bill Putman, a lad of 11 when his father, J.M. Putman, helped start the bank.

“He recalled that the builder had underestimated the weight of the safe and that the safe fell through the first flooring prepared for it,” Jines wrote.

For some time, he said, the safe leaned there in the broken-in portion of the bank floor.

“That safe was used until late 1967 when it was rendered useless by robbers. For many years, it was a featured part of the decor outside the main entrance to the bank,” Jines wrote.

By December 1911, the board had quit using college hall (the name of the building on the school grounds) for their monthly meetings and started meeting at the directors room in the bank building.

Lean years

In 1922, the assistant bank commissioner wrote the bank president questioning his loan advances to a farmer: “You have advanced to ... against which you hold chattel mortgage on 100 head of hogs, some horses and other chattels. Although you are already facing a loss in this line of credit, you are making further advances to this party. You should be reasonably certain that you are not putting out good money after bad in making these further advances.”

W.T. Patterson responded: “As to the ... notes, we are advancing small amounts to help feed some hogs we have chattel on; as these hogs are running on good cover fields and are doing fine, we think by so doing, we will lessen our loss very greatly if not save ourselves from loss altogether.”

In January 1924, “the board was submitted financial statement which was satisfactory considering the three failures of crop season in this country.”

Although agriculture was the predominant industry in the community, with apples being aprimary crop, there were other businesses in town.

A newspaper sales flyer dated March 3, 1923, listed all the businesses and services in town including two general stores, one hardware store, one drug store, two grocery stores, three produce markets, two garages, one flour mill, one lumber yard, one bank, one barber shop, one cooperate factory, two blacksmith shops, one hotel, one grist mill, one real estate dealer and two shoe repair shops.

Of the display ads on that page, one was for the pea Ridge Consolidated Schools which stated that each department was “in the hands of a specialist,” that the instructors were approved by the state; and that the schools offered “good Christian influence” with “no picture shows to take their attention from study.”

The bank stated that its cashier and assistant were bonded and they had a guaranteed burglarproof safe.

The Great Depression

In November 1933, the board of directors resolved to apply for the Temporary Federal Deposit Insurance Fund in accordance with the provisions of the Banking Act of 1933.

It was a critical year for banks everywhere, and March 6 was declared a banking holiday throughout the nation. Banks were to remain closed for several days until a money panic ended, according to Jines’ report in the bank history. Many banks closed and never reopened.

In 1966, Jines interviewed W.T.

Patterson, who told her that the Bank of Pea Ridge was one of two banks in Benton County that was able to stay open throughout the Depression. Patterson, then 96, said that he personally put up $14,6000 to keep the bank doorsopen. He recalled that the following year a bank auditor told him that he would not have allowed him to do that, if he’d known.

Patterson responded that Pea Ridge was his home and the people who stood to lose if the bank closed were his neighbors and friends.

The State Banking Commissioner verified that the Bank of Pea Ridge and the Bank of Gravett were the only two banks in Benton County which remained open during the Depression.

Patterson told Jines that he took a heavy personal loss in a1935 robbery because he had a strong box in the vault and some of its contents were many valuable relics of the Battle of Pea Ridge. It was reported that the strongboxes, bank notes and other papers taken in the robbery were tossed into a mine shaft at Joplin.

J.W. “Bill” Putman clearly remembered the bank beginnings, he told Jines in 1968. He said he remembered how his father, Joe M. Putman and his father’s partner, J.W. Patterson, organized the bank and traveled around the community in a buggy as they called on prospective stockholders.

Bill Putman said that when he was a young man attending business college, he was called upon to take the next train home to assume a job in the bank. He remembered the first bookkeeper being Eliza Cowan; he replaced her.

By the time Putman took the job, the bank had just acquired its first posting machine and although it was manually-operated, it was an advancement over the pen and ink posting done by Cowan.

Putman said that in addition to bookkeeping, he served as janitor.

“There was many a night,” he told Jines in 1968, “when I was down there scrubbing that marble.”◊◊ ◊

Editor’s note: The preceding information was gathered from articles written by Billie Jines and published both in a special progress edition of the Pea Ridge Graphic on Oct. 19, 1968, and on the 75th anniversary of the bank in the May 14, 1986.

Presidents of Bank of Pea Ridge

1911-1912 - John C. Miller 1912-1958 - W.T. Patterson 1958-1963 - Haskell Walker 1963 - Sam Walton 1963-1970 - Hearn Oliver 1970-1972 - Jimmy Talbot 1972-1975 - Carl Baggett 1975-1976 - Alton Cash 1976-1984 - Rick Buck;

John Easley, vice president 1984-1986 - Tim Summers 1986-1990 - Greg Reed 1990-1994 - Richard Kimberlin 1994-1997 - Jason Tennant 1997-2003 - Barbara Owen 2003-2011 - John Lasater 2011 - Jeff Neil

Historical time line of the Bank of Pea Ridge

◊ Feb. 18, 1911 - Organizational meeting, presided over by J.C. Miller, president, and W.T. Patterson, secretary.

◊May 4, 1911 - Bank of Pea Ridge incorporated with $10,000 in capital stock divided into 100 shares of $100 each and to be managed by a board of directors with seven directors.

◊Feb. 25, 1911 - W.J. Rogers offered to build a “cement building 20- by 40-feet with 12-feet ceilings” immediately east of J.J. Putman Store for $650. That building served the bank for 57 years.

◊1911 - Expenditures listed for new bank: hauling vault door, $2; freight on safe, $31.52; paper pins, 5 cents (apparently used in place of paper clips or staples).

◊Sept. 1, 1911- National Safe and National vault door purchased from Dorsey Co. of Dalllas, to be shipped to Avoca via rail and then by wagon to Pea Ridge Graphic. The safe was “hauled proudly into Pea Ridge with a gathering of the curious lining the street. Four mules pulled the wagon.”

◊Feb. 14, 1914 - Special meeting “for the purpose of deciding to continue in business under the new law.”

◊March 7, 1914 - Number of directors reduced from seven to three; board members were W.T. Patterson, J. M. Putman and G.C. Laughlin. Laughlin died and Putman was elected director and vice president.

The Great Depression

◊1933 - Bank of Pea Ridge was one of two banks in Benton County to survive the Great Depression, thanks in part to the $14,000 put into the bank personally by W.T. Patterson.

◊April 19, 1935 - First bank robbery. Taken was $914.95 in gold, silver and paper money.

Seven men were arrested; two were charged as accessories and five were charged with the burglary.

◊July 15, 1935 - J.M. Putman resigned as director and member of the board. Loyd Patterson elected as member and secretary.

◊1937 - “The bank shows net earnings above all expenses this time for the first time in three years, and we think the prospect for the coming year is more promising than for the last four years,” according to board reports.

World War II

◊Nov. 6, 1941 - The bank applied to the federal government as an agent to sell Defense Savings Bonds.

◊Aug. 28, 1942 - J.M. Putman, cashier of the bank since its organization, resigned. He was drawing a salary of $20 a week and was to be replaced by president W.T. Patterson, who was drawing a salary of $12.50 a week. It was agreed to combine the two salaries and pay Patterson $32.50 a week.

Post-war years

◊Jan. 8, 1946 - There were 300 shares of stock which were owned by three persons: W.T.

Patterson, 280 shares; R.B. Patterson, 10 shares; and J.F. Patterson, 10 shares. A decision was made to raise the stock of the bank from $15,000 to $25,000, increasing the shares from 300 to 500.

◊Jan. 11, 1949 - Directorswere W.T. Patterson, president; Hugh H. Webb, vice president, and W.W. Davidson, secretary. Alvin Armstrong was assistant cashier and Nedra McGinnis, bookkeeper.

◊January 1951 - Nell Webb was added as director.

◊Feb. 8, 1952 - W.T. Patterson, president, Hugh Webb, vice president, cashier and secretary; Alvin Armstrong, assistant cashier; and Lois Day, bookkeeper.

Later in the year, minutes showed that W.W. Davidson sold his bank stock to Patterson.

◊July 10, 1955 - Second bank robbery: $370 nickels; $373.70 collected for Southwest Light and Gas Co.; and $86.51 collected for Pea Ridge Water Co.; arrest made, but no records in court records of the suspect being charged.

◊Nov. 12, 1967 - Third bank robbery, the loss exceeded $30,000 taken. Investigated by local police, county deputies, state police and the FBI. No arrests were made.

◊April 18, 1968 - Ground breaking for new bank facility.

◊Oct. 17, 1968 - Formal opening of new location - a modified Colonial design 62- by 42.5-foot building, constructed by Billy Hall, with a drive-in window, on the northeast corner of North Curtis Avenue and Lee Town Avenue.

◊Oct. 16, 1974 - Downtown, original bank building, sold to Pea Ridge Library Association for $2,400.

◊Sept. 10, 1975 - Bank began to study possibility of expanding new building.

◊Sept. 21, 1980 - Open house for enlarged and remodeled bank building.

◊2002 - Began using the name Arvest Bank of Pea Ridge.

◊July 7, 2007 - Newly constructed facility opened on former site and additional lot.

◊◊ ◊

Editor’s note: The preceding information was gathered from articles written by Billie Jines and published on the 75th anniversary of the bank in the May 14, 1986, edition of The Times of Northeast Benton County.

Area, Pages 3 on 05/11/2011