History of the Saline Valley Bank

By Edward Hamilton
(Written for the bank's centennial in September 1981)

The bank was started in September 1881 by the Shuster and Walker families of St. Joseph, Missouri. The same group started the Ottawa County Bank and the Bank of Beloit which are no longer in existence. The first officers of the Bank were A.M. Shuster, president; H.T. Walker, Vice President, and C.J. Brown, Cashier. The first Directors were A.M. Shuster, H.T. Walker, C.J. Brown, J.W. Walker and S.A. Walker.

The first quarterly statement showed loans of $22,858.08; Due from banks $849.67; Real Estate $1,218.78; Cash on hand $4,287.20. Capital Stock was $13,000.00; undivided profits $2.294.92 and Deposits were $18,919.18.

Approximately two years after the bank opened Mr. C.J. Brown desired to return to Beloit and he persuaded Mr. A Marshall (his brother-in-law) to enter the banking business and come to Lincoln. Mr. Marshall was the railroad agent at Minneapolis, Kansas. Mr. Marshall was elected Cashier of the bank and was known as "Uncle Abe." He later purchased the outside interest and was elected President ' a position he held until his death in 1930.

Upon the death of A. Marshall his son D.B. Marshall (Ben) then became President having served in the bank 25 years prior. Ben Marshall held this position until his death in 1949.

The presidency was then assumed by D.B. Marshall Jr. who held this position until his death in 1966. Mr. Marshall was County Attorney for several years and was elected to the Kansas Legislature for several terms.

Upon the death of D.B. Marshall Jr. the Board elected Edw. Hamilton President who stills serves the bank. Mr. Hamilton came to the bank in 1928 and has served as Assistant Cashier, Vice President and Cashier, and Executive Vice President prior to his election to President. He has been a director since 1928 and has completed 53 years with the bank in April of 1981.

One person long associated with the bank was J.A. Schellinger who was known as "Joe Shill." Joe served with A. Marshall until Mr. Marshall's death in 1930 ending an association of more than 45 years. Mr. Schellinger died in 1937 holding the title of Vice President and Cashier at that time.

In the years past, the following are some of the people who have served as directors: G.M. Weeks, A.W. Elgin, L.J. Rees, L.J. Dunton, E. Rees, Frank F. Chase, Pearl B. Marshall, D.B. Cogswell, J. Rex Stevens, Alvin E. Walters and Max Crawford.

The present Board of Directors, in addition to Edw. Hamilton, are as follows: Elizabeth Marshall Erickson was elected director in 1965 and became Vice President. She is the daughter of D.B. Marshall Sr. and worked in the bank several summers while in college.

Richard A. Erickson was elected in 1976 and is an attorney and investor in Kansas City, Mo. He is the husband of Elizabeth M. Erickson.

John T. Marshall was elected in 1971 to the Board and is the great grandson of A. Marshall and the son of the late D.B. Marshall Jr. and Mrs. Jean B. Marshall. John is the Editor-Publisher of the Olathe Daily News of Olathe, Kansas.

Lucile Hamilton, Inactive Vice President and Board Secretary, served the bank for over 30 years before retiring in December of 1971 as Sr. Vice President. She has been a director since 1966.

L.B. Brockett (Lou), Retired Vice President, was elected director in 1966. He came to the bank from the Lincoln State Bank when it was purchased in 1951. Lou retired in 1966 and enjoys his golf.

Robert E. Hamilton, Executive Vice President, was elected director in 1970 when he came to the bank as Cashier. Bob served in the Lincoln School system as Jr. high math teacher and coach for a number of years.

Gerald H. Walter was elected director in 1976 after having served the bank several years as agricultural advisor. Gerald is a farmer-stockman.

The present staff, in addition to those already named as Directors are as follows:

Josephine Manning, Sr. Vice President and Cashier, came to the bank in 1966. She had worked at the bank prior to this in 1951 and 1952. Josephine worked at the National Bank of America in Salina for several years.

Glenn Stegman, Vice President, came to the bank in 1979 from Elkhart, Kansas. Glenn had several years in banking prior to coming with this bank.

Elaine Keim, Assistant Vice President, came to the bank in 1970. Elaine also worked at the National Bank of America in Salina for several years.

Debra McBride, Assistant Cashier, came to the bank in 1971.

Helen Nelson, Assistant Cashier, came to the bank in 1973.

Dolores Obermueller, Teller-Proof Operator, came to the bank in 1976.

Janne Watson, Teller-Proof Operator, joined us in 1979.

Karen Frederking, our latest employee, started in 1981.

Since 1910 the bank has had the following Presidents: A. Marshall, D.B. Marshall, D.B. Marshall Jr., and Edward Hamilton.

Since 1910 the bank has had the following Cashiers: J.A. Schellinger, Edw. Hamilton, Lucile Hamilton, Robert E. Hamilton, and Josephine Manning.

For most of its 100 year history the bank has occupied the same building at the corner of 4th and Lincoln Ave. The interior has been remodeled several times and a new vault was added in 1951. The exterior was extensively remodeled in 1956 and the Drive-In was added in 1971.

The last quarterly statement was of June 30, 1981, was as follows: Loans $7,172.966.67; U.S. Bonds $4,158,897.45; Kansas Bonds $1,463,841.47; U.S. Govt. Agency Bonds $1,582,872.99; Fed. Funds Sold $950,000.00; Cash and Deposits in other banks $639,382.22; Building and Fixtures $67,417.55; Capital, Surplus, Undivided Profits and Reserves $1,360,000.00 and Deposits $14,671.411.72.

The bank has enjoyed a steady growth in size and this comes from the fine customers that we have had through the years.

 

Saline Valley Bank Marks Century of Service

Lincoln Sentinel-Republican, 10 September 1981
The Saline Valley Bank at Lincoln – the county’s oldest and largest banking establishment – will be observing its centennial anniversary this month with a five-hour open house planned for Sept. 19. The bank is pulling out all the stops for an extraordinary celebration, with a grand prize drawing for a $500 savings bond climaxing the event, underscored by 30 treasure chest drawings in the amounts of $50, $75 and $100 savings bonds – ten in each of three categories – pre-school, student and adult. …
“Our customers are the real key to the success of our banking operation,” stated Edward Hamilton, bank president, as the institution readies for its Century of Service observation. The first quarterly statement of the bank, founded in September 1881, showed a worth of $63,425. The June 1981 statement totaled $16,041,000.
From data supplied by Mr. Hamilton who has about 58 years of banking experience, it is learned that the Shuster and Walker families of St. Joseph, Mo., founded the Saline Valley Bank. Those first officers were A.M. Shuster, president; H.T. Walker, vice president, and C.J. Brown, cashier. Early directors, in addition to these bankers, were J.W. Walker and S.A. Walker.
“The Saline Valley Bank has shown tremendous growth,” Hamilton said this week, and added, “I have to say this, a part of it is inflation. Our sizeable growth, and I want to emphasize this, is due to cooperation and loyal support our friends have given over the years. The growth is through the support of our customers.”
Approximately two years after the bank opened here, A. Marshall, a Minneapolis railroad agent, entered the banking business at Saline Valley Bank, and was elected cashier. Known as Uncle Abe, he later purchased outside interests and was elected president – a position he held until his death in 1930.
Abe’s son D.B. Marshall, who had then served 25 years at the bank, was elected and served as president until his death in 1949. His son, D.B. Jr., was president from that time until 1966, and it was then that the board elected Ed Hamilton president. Prior to that time, Hamilton, a native of Iowa who came to the Lincoln bank in 1928 after five years at Kensington bank, held positions of assistant cashier, vice president, cashier and executive vice president. A director at Saline Valley Bank since 1928, he observed 53 years with the establishment in April 1981.
As the bank observes its centennial, its Board of Directors is comprised of Elizabeth Marshall Erickson (since 1965), Richard A. Erickson (1976), John T. Marshall (1971), Lucile Hamilton (1966)¬ – also retired as senior vice president in 1971 after serving the bank over 30 years; L.B. Brockett (1966) – Lou is a retired vice president; Robert E. Hamilton (1970) – current executive vice president; and Gerald H. Walter (1976) – former agricultural advisor at SVB.
Throughout most of its 100 year history, the Saline Valley Bank has occupied the same building at the corner of Fourth Street and Lincoln Avenue, although the interior has been remodeled several times over the years and the exterior was extensively remodeled in 1956.
Veteran banker Hamilton reminisced that in the ‘30s when local farmers generally survived by means of bartering – eggs, milk and cream for off-farm necessities – together with often less than $10 cash income per month, times were difficult, severe.
“Farmers were faced with the loss of equity in their homes and farms. That was a real difficult decade, he stressed.
“Banks did what they could – it was just impossible to hold them all.”
The then 58-year-old Salina Valley Bank ended the dusty, depression years of the ‘30s with a $335,000 statement.
Modern banking equipment has taken away the drudgery of hand-sorting checks and of standing hour after hour to post daily accounts after closing hours, Hamilton acknowledged. But, for executives in the banking business, mandatory federal requirements usurp those “extra” hours almost completely, so that “banking hours” to the Saline Valley bank president still often extend beyond those “open” hours posted on its now-modern glass doors.
Ed Hamilton grins at the mention of “bankers’ hours.” For him, the term recalls after-supper hours – as in the “dirty thirties.” During that period, the bank cut back to three employees when the economy just did not justify the normal four, and those after-supper hours were routing. And that was before the advent of “overtime,” he laughed.
Possibly the most outstanding change in banking services during the Saline Valley Bank’s century of service concerns the “about-face” in the marketing of banking services, Hamilton stated. In those days, and earlier, it was the bank patron who sought bank services. “Trends now are for banks to seek through all modern media – television and newspaper advertising for example – those depositors and loan customers,” he stated.
The Saline Valley Bank president, who attended the “Beanery” and Kansas Wesleyan College of Commerce at Salina before taking his first banking job at Kensington, emphasizes that the loyalty of folks in the community he loves – Lincoln – are wholly responsible for the bank’s steady growth.
And, speaking for the bank, he invites the community to come in to share the centennial anniversary holiday that has been announced for Sept. 19.