• FARMERS STATE BANK HISTORY January - History of banks in Yale – Part 1 In 1881, Charles and Bruce Yale, the sons of Milo Yale the founder of the city, started a private bank, The Citizens’ Bank of Yale. In 1889 this bank became the Yale Savings Bank and operated until it closed on June 6, 1926. It was located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Main Street and Bell Street where the Yale Post Office was located for many years. The Yale Fire Department building is currently in this location. Although the Yale Saving Bank was the first bank to serve Yale, it had no affiliation with Farmers State Bank. Look for Part 2 of FSB History with a continued look at history of banks in Yale. February - History of banks in Yale – Part 2 In 1914 a second bank opened in Yale. It was the Citizens Bank of Jamaica (a private bank) that was owned by the Heater family. The bank was located in a building where Farmers State Bank is currently located. On August 29, 1914 the entire west side of Yale’s Main Street was destroyed by a fire, including the bank building. In 1915, following the fire, George W. Heater and his son Guy E. Heater formed a new private bank called The Citizens Bank of Yale replacing the branch of The Citizens Bank of Jamaica. Next month in Part 3 we will explore the beginning of Farmers State Bank
  • March – The Beginning of Farmers State Bank – Part 3 On February 19, 1921 the Articles of Incorporation for Farmers State Bank were filed with the Iowa Secretary of State to convert the private Citizens Bank of Yale to a state charted bank – Farmers State Bank. On March 21, 1921, Farmers State Bank was approved to begin operation. The initial bank capital of $30,000 was provided by 34 stockholders: H. T. Blackburn, F. J. Biedermann, W. H. Burchfield, H. E. Culver, David Cox, Harry E. Culver, M. C. Culver, Charles Chaloupka, Wm. Cordis, Phillip Clouse, J. C. Danner, C. H. Erb, W. R. Hitchins, C. R. Hemphill, Jay W. Hemphill, Guy E. Heater, Audra Heater, Lougene Heater, J. T. Johnson, Charles Krauthoff, Wm. Leonard, H. B. Lyons, J. S. Latimer, Frank Macek, F. McClatchey, F. K. Nelson, T. E. Roberts, Charles & Joseph Small, E. L. Sheehy, S. M. Thompson, John W. Truax, Josef Tasler, A. L. Wiedman and E. M. Wernli The initial Board of Directors consisted of: W. H. Burchfield, Wm. Cordis, H. E. Culver, C. H. Erb, C. R. Hemphill, F. McClatchey and S. M. Thompson. The bank officers were Wm. Cordis, President, W. H. Burchfield, Vice President, Guy E. Heater, Cashier and W. R. Hitchens, Asst. Cashier. Next month another chapter of the history of FSB. April - Another Fire in Yale – Part 4 On January 16, 1928 the bank building and the neighboring building, Wiedman’s General store, were both destroyed by an early morning fire that originated in the store. The bank reopened for business at 8:00 A. M. the next day in the north room of the W. T. Strock building, a hardware store that was four doors south of the bank building. Construction of the building in which the bank currently operates began as soon as the weather permitted in the spring of 1928. The total cost of this new building was $15,000.00. Watch for Part 5 next month for an exciting day in Farmers State Bank’s history.
  • May - Excitement in Yale – Part 5 Overnight on October 21, 1931, two men broke into the bank and hid. When bank bookkeeper Jay W Hemphill arrived around 8 AM the men forced Hemphill into the vault and tied him up. They proceeded to rob the bank of $4,585.82 which was all of the cash that was in the bank’s safe. Ray Hitchens, the Assistant Cashier, arrived as the robbers were leaving the bank. They forced Hitchens into the vault with Hemphill. When the thieves left the bank they were unable to find their getaway car. Yale Mayor Fred Brechbiel, the town mechanic, had noticed an unfamiliar car early that morning while the robbers were still inside of the bank. Brechbiel towed the car to his garage and locked it inside until he could sort out the matter. The robbers then proceeded to steal a car from in front of a home a block north and a block west of the bank to make their getaway in. It turned out this car belonged to Guy Heater, the bank’s Cashier. Both men were later apprehended and arrested for the robbery. Next month look for another chapter in Farmers State Bank’s history with the 1933 Banking Holiday.
  • May - Excitement in Yale – Part 5 Overnight on October 21, 1931, two men broke into the bank and hid. When bank bookkeeper Jay W Hemphill arrived around 8 AM the men forced Hemphill into the vault and tied him up. They proceeded to rob the bank of $4,585.82 which was all of the cash that was in the bank’s safe. Ray Hitchens, the Assistant Cashier, arrived as the robbers were leaving the bank. They forced Hitchens into the vault with Hemphill. When the thieves left the bank they were unable to find their getaway car. Yale Mayor Fred Brechbiel, the town mechanic, had noticed an unfamiliar car early that morning while the robbers were still inside of the bank. Brechbiel towed the car to his garage and locked it inside until he could sort out the matter. The robbers then proceeded to steal a car from in front of a home a block north and a block west of the bank to make their getaway in. It turned out this car belonged to Guy Heater, the bank’s Cashier. Both men were later apprehended and arrested for the robbery. Next month look for another chapter in Farmers State Bank’s history with the 1933 Banking Holiday.
  • CUSTOMER’S MEMORIES OF FSB Since its beginning in 1921, Farmers State Bank has been a cornerstone of the community. Longtime customers, former local residents, and retired employees have shared some of their memories of FSB. If you have a memory to share let us know, we would love to hear it! January Remembers Bess Heater telling her that a friend of Bess’s had been to the bank to do some business but there was no one at the bank except the person who was sweeping the floor but the sweeper was her husband, Guy the bank Cashier, who not only ran the bank but did the janitor work as well. Remembers the large desks for the ledger books where the records were kept and the only equipment being a typewriter and an adding machine. February Our family would ride the train from Linden to Yale to do our banking business Jay W Hemphill’s desk was his filing cabinet. He had stacks of paper and files on it but he knew exactly where everything was and could pull it out of the stack when it was needed. March “Our family moved northeast of Yale in 1936 and started banking at FSB, we have maintained a banking relationship since that time. My brother and I would come into the bank with our dad to talk to Jay W (Jimmie) Hemphill. Jimmie would give us a nickel so we could go to the store to buy gum. I remember the tall iron frame work that surrounded the teller line at that time. I asked Jimmie for a recommendation in 1963, Jimmie said “sure, what would you like me to say about you!” When my wife and I came to the bank to get a loan, Jimmie gave us the loan form and told us to “fill in how much you want because the bank has more than that!” April “Our family moved northeast of Yale in 1936 and started banking at FSB, we have maintained a banking relationship since that time. My brother and I would come into the bank with our dad to talk to Jay W (Jimmie) Hemphill. Jimmie would give us a nickel so we could go to the store to buy gum. I remember the tall iron frame work that surrounded the teller line at that time. I asked Jimmie for a recommendation in 1963, Jimmie said “sure, what would you like me to say about you!” When my wife and I came to the bank to get a loan, Jimmie gave us the loan form and told us to “fill in how much you want because the bank has more than that!” May “I remember how nice all of the employees were to me and my siblings when we came into the bank. I especially remember Frances Chaloupka. I would wait for Frances to be free so she could take my deposit because she was so nice.