Miscellaneous: History of Bank of Winnfield & Trust Co., 1951, Winn Parish, LA Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** From: June 21, 1951 Winn Parish Enterprise Modern Bank Reviews Its Interesting History by Tom Kelly A half-century of community service will be celebrated next Friday, June 29, by the Bank of Winnfield and Trust Company. If you have a bank account or do business in any way with the local bank, you are among perhaps 2,500 people connected with this organization, still standing after 50 years, more solidly implanted in the everyday activities of local folks than when it was organized, and just as much needed. As the golden anniversary is celebrated, the Bank of Winnfield has grown from the newly chartered organization with $ 50,000 capital stock and no surplus or profit in 1901, to the progressive business it is today, with $50,000 capital stock plus $150,000 surplus and $69,395.69 in undivided profits at the beginning of this year. Total resources at the beginning of the year were $3,035,328.06. During its fifty years, the Bank of Winnfield has reflected the general prosperity of the community through its deposits and loans. It has tided its citizens over lean years, has absorbed one bank, and made an attempt at saving another from dissolving. It has aided farmers in financing crops, has helped people get started in business, buy homes, and pay debts. The bank has been robbed once since its opening. When the doors are opened next Friday for open house, visitors will see one of the modern banks of this area, which has grown from a modest beginning to what it is today, the result of 50 years' work. When first organized in 1901, the Bank of Winnfield opened for business in a building on the present site of Max Thieme Chevrolet Company, in the first brick building in Winnfield. First Officers First officers were S. W. Smith, Jr., president and H. T. Pye, cashier. Board of directors in addition to officers were G. W. Lawhon, B. P. Edwards, J. E. Reynolds, G. P. Long, M. Bernstein, J. W. Crawford, and J. T. Wallace. In addition to the officers and board of directors, who were among the original stockholders, the following were among the 17 original stockholders: Earl E. Kidd, R. L. Tannehill, H. L. Brian, J. E. DeLoach, J. G. Teagle, P. K. Abel, J. J. Peters, and B. W. Bailey. Mr. Abel and Mr. Bailey are the only two of the 17 original living today. Mr. Abel is now court recorder and runs an abstracting business in the courthouse. Mr. Bailey, who resides in Winnfield, is a retired president of the bank. In 1904, the bank moved to the building now occupied by Shirley's Pharmacy, and in 1913 to its present location in the building then occupied by Winn Parish Bank. The Bank of Winnfield bought out the Winn Parish Bank then for $26,000, which included all properties and accounts of the latter bank, according to old courthouse records. In 1941 this building was completely renovated and new equipment added at a cost of about $50,000. Other records in the courthouse show that the bank charter was amended in 1907. H. T. Pye was president at that time, with B. L. Anderson, local insurance salesman as assistant cashier. J. R. Heard was named cashier then. The original recorded charter, made before the popular use of typewriters, is recorded in a beautiful hand by C. B. Bevill, then deputy clerk of court under P. K. Abel. Presidents of the bank since its organization have been S. W. Smith, Jr., G. P. Long, H. T. Pye, B. W. Bailey, J. E. Carter, and J. R. Heard, who has held that position since 1934. G. P. Long, one of the largest stockholders when the bank was organized, and member of the original Board of Directors, served as president from 1902-1907, following S. W. Smith. After retiring as president, he served as vice president until the time of his death. The Board of Directors today is composed of the following: J. Albert Nugent, cashier, a former post office employee. He came to the bank in 1918, was on duty at the time the bank was robbed. W. E. Heard, vice president, hardware and furniture store operator here. He became connected with the bank in 1933. A. L. Smith, Sr., Tremont and Gulf Railway official joined the bank in 1934. H. Robert Heard, assistant cashier, son of the president, came to the bank in 1931 after completing school. He served in the Army during 1942-1945. James E. Carter, former mercantile businessman, owner of Carter Motor Company, which he sold a few years ago. He came to the bank in 1933. James G. Russell, Jr., has been with the bank since 1935, when he completed school, with the exception of a hitch with the Army, 1942-1945. Richard C. Heard, son of the president, has been with the bank since 1949. He was discharged from the Army in 1945, and was in the insurance business in Jonesboro until coming to the bank. J. R. Heard, president since 1934, served as cashier beginning in 1907. Formerly in hardware and furniture business with W. E. Heard and W. F. Cooper. Full time employees at the bank and their time of beginning employment, except those already mentioned, are: J. Albert Nugent, Richard C. Heard, Odis C. Fordham, 1946; G. W. Jones, 1949; Robert Heard, James G. Russell, Jr., Marvin M. Carraway, 1946; James L. Hughes, 1949; and Harwell L. Allen, attorney. Important Institution The bank in any community, large city or farming town, is an important institution. It affects perhaps a greater cross section of people than any other except the church. Housewives watching the family budget, merchants and business people making their daily deposits, farmers putting away proceeds from the cattle sale of cotton crop, all make the bank their financial headquarters. During the depression years more people were vitally concerned with the bank than today, perhaps, for then they depended on it for crop loans, were indebted to it with mortgages. Later when prosperity again flourished, they returned to the bank books, this time on the plus side of the ledger. As the general wealth lagged, bank business did also. At that time, Winnfield had another bank, the First National, now non-existent. The First National, located in a building now occupied by McCoy's Automotive and Home Supply, folded during the depression. When it became apparent that the bank would be forced to close, its officers called on the Bank of Winnfield, which made a loan of $15,000 in an effort to keep it solvent, an effort which failed. On hearing of the bank anniversary this week, and the planned celebration, one former Winn farmer said, "Don't forget B. W. Bailey. He was president back when things were tough." Mr. Bailey, now retired, was remembered as one of the early boosters of better farm practices in Winn, when some still scoffed at the comparatively "new" idea. Before the coming of AAA, FHA, PMA, SCS, and other government farm agencies, the bank played a large role in financing farming. Bank Robbed 20 Years Ago J. Albert Nugent, cashier, and member of the Board of Directors recounted this week his version of the bank robbery back on a cold December 31, 1931. It was during the noon hour when the two men came into the bank, leveled their guns on Nugent and B. W. Bailey, the bank president, and announced that the bank was being robbed. The cashier and president were alone in the bank at the time, but during the course of the robbery, Judge Jones, then Eighth District Judge, came in. He and Mr. Bailey were required to lie face down on the floor while the robbers forced Mr. Nugent to show them where the money was. While this was going on, an unidentified Negro who worked a bank-owned farm near St. Maurice, came in to make arrangements for his year's crop loan. He was also forced to lie down, with the bankers and judge. After loading about $3,000 in cash into a large sack, the robbers asked if there was any more money in the bank. On being told there was not, they put the three men on the floor into the vault, and took Mr. Nugent with them, releasing him near the school house. He said the robbers never bothered to look in a safe, sitting in plain sight in the bank, which contained about $30,000. The robbers were transferred to another getaway car at the school and escaped, but were later apprehended and brought to justice. One of the robbers was caught and identified in a Shreveport jail, while the other was arrested in Arkansas. He had charges against him in that state and could not be extradited. The driver of the getaway car was also given a penitentiary sentence. After the robbery, Mr. Nugent reported he talked to the Negro who had walked in on the robbery. While in the vault, which was so dark you "couldn't see your hand before your face," the following conversation is reported to have taken place, in hushed tones. "Who is that?" "This is B. W. Bailey, the bank president. Who is that?" "I'm Judge Jones of the Eighth District. Who is that other fellow?" "I don't know him." The Negro is reported to have told Mr. Nugent, "I had always kinda depended on the white folks to take care of me, but when I seen them two white fellows in trouble same as me, I began calling on the Lord." This is the first and only time the bank has been robbed. At present, it is equipped with a burglarproof steel vault, a photocopy machine which records all checks passing through the bank, and the latest in posting and bookkeeping equipment. The Bank of Winnfield is also protected by Federal Depositors Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which now insures depositors' accounts up to $10,000. Deposits were formerly insured up to $5,000, but this was doubled last year. Other stories and pictures in this issue tell the complete story of the Bank of Winnfield as it begins its 51st year of service. The story of its first 50 indicates that the next 50 will see the bank continually keeping pace with modern advances, and offering customers the best of service. "The bank is always open to constructive criticism from its patrons," says J. R. Heard, president.