Name/Title
State Bank of WaupunScope and Content
Historical information on State Bank of Waupun History for 1976 Bicentennial Celebration in Waupun, WI.
*Facts are typed and handwritten and was scanned with mistakes, if any, left uncorrected.
STATE BANK OF WAUPUN HISTORY
The State Bank of Waupun was chartered in 1903, making it 73 years old and giving it that background of experience which is so desirable in the conduct of a successful bank.
The bank was sponsored by a group of business men of the city, whim were active more than 25 years in its management. It was always the desire of its officers to render service beyond customary expectations.
The bank began business with a capital of $25,000.00. This has been constantly increased, through earnings, maintaining at 1 to 10, the ratio, accepted as safe, of invested capital to deposits.
The State Bank passed safely through. several critical periods of national financial disturbances. The first was the so-called "money panic" in 1907, when the bank was still young. Then came the World War. Subscriptions were taken to the various government war loans and as a result certificates of meritorious services were received from the Federal Reserve Bank for the issuance of both the Fourth Liberty and Victory Liberty Loan Bonds.
In the early 1920's the bark officials realized that the old vault and working space were getting too small for the growing business. Instead of making only a few alterations and repairs, they decided to wait until a new building could be built with the modern look from furnace room to roof.
In 1929, the new building was ready for operation, substantially built, complete in all departments, convenient for the public, practical for the bank's employees and affording safety for money and securities.
The front of the building had a high ornamental arch as its principal feature. It was build of durable, Indiana limestone.
Light and ventilation wire the objectives in the main lobby. They were accomplished by having three arched windows on the south, supplemted by a large skylight. The novel texstone walls, together with the twenty-four foot ceiling, helped the make this main room very striking in appearance.
The vault was built of reinforced concrete, eighteen inches thick and the vault door was ten inches of solid material built in a scientific manner to resist attack. The same equipment protected the safety deposit boxes as well as the bark's own cash and securities. As an extra measure of safety, the vault was protected by the modern sound wave burglar alarm. That alarm would sound when either the vault or its door were disturbed.
One of the new features was the separate room for the bookkeeping machines, which confined the noisy work to one room. That room had a large skylight. A fireproof vault stored the books and records.
The Architects and Builders of the new State bank were A Moorman and Company of Minneapolis, who had specialized in Bank Buildings for past 25 years.
Mr. H. J. Hartgerink, president of the bank, at the time of the new building, and one of the original stockholders, was born in the Town of Alto, and lived there until he was eighteen years old.
At that time he went to Milwaukee and took up carpenter work. In 1885, he entered the contracting business. He erected many residences in Waupun, three stores, a hotel, as well as the M.E. Church and the First Reformed Church.
Together with Mr. C. A Shaler, he started the Shaler-Hartgerink Umbrella Company, and shared its management with Mr. Shaler for 10 years. He later was interested in the management of the Palma Shoe Company, which helped to preserve Waupun as a shoe town.
Mr. J. S. Morris, Vice-President, was born in Goderich, Ontario, Canade, in which city he served his apprenticeship as a carriage woodworker.
He worked at his trade in Chicago, before coming to Waupun. In 1877 he formed a partnership with O. A. Morse, Jr., and a few years later became sole owner of the carriage factory which he operated for 46 years, or up to the time it was destroyed by fire in 1922.
Mr. Morris made carriages, sleighs and vehicles of every description. He originated many things in his line, and as that was before the time of "yearly models", as we now refer to autos, everything he put out was well built and often in use for twenty years and. more.
Mr. Morris was always interested in Waupun and active in its welfare. He served as Mayor two terms and it was during his second term that Waupun's Electric Light Plant was built in 1898.
Mr. Fred W. Luck, Cashier, was born in Ripon and lived there until he finished high school in 1898. He worked at the Princton State Bank for 8 years, then as a cashier at Red Granite, before he came to Waupun as cashier, in 1907. John Roberts was president of the bank at that time.
Mr. Oscar Hanisch, Director, was born in Waupun. He entered the hotel business. in 1876, and for many years thereafter had a prominent part in the business life of the city. He held the office of City Treas. for 24 years. He resigned in 1915 to become Postmaster and held that position for seven years. He was an original stockholder of the State Bank and was actively engaged in its affairs as Assistant Cashier up to the time he became Postmaster.
Mr. Albert Lemmenes, Director, moved to Alto with his parents when he was two years old. He was a farmer by occupation, having owned eight farms during his time, and he helped many young men to own a farm of their own.
Mr. Lemmenes retired in 1920, from farming, but his broad acquaintance in this vicinity and his knowledge of farm lands, made him an excellent director of the bank.
Mr. H. J. Maxwell, Director , was born on a farm near Pickett, WI. He graduated from the Spencerian Business College of Milwaukee and got his first banking experience in the town of Little Falls, Minn., the birthplace of Colonel Lindbergh.
He was with the First National Bank of Ripon from 1891, to 1903. Then he was the cashier of Princeton, for the first three years at Princeton, Fred Luck, was his assistant. In 1918, Mr. Maxwell was called back to Ripon as the vice-president of the bank in which he previously had worked in various capacities, from messenger to teller. The State Bank was fortunate to have the benefit of Mr. Maxwell's experience.
Mr. W. E. Rank, Director, was born in Waupun and had the distinction of living in the house in which he was born, sixty years ago. His parents were among Wisconsin's pioneers, who did so much in building up our state. They came to Waupun in 1854, just one year before the St. Paul railroad pushed its way north to this city and beyond. Mr. Rank was a natural merchant, he worked with Bryce and Ferguson, and later with his father in the general store business. In 1892, he and his brother, Charles took over his deceased father's store. In 1902, he bought the stock of C. & E. Jones and later associated himself with Albert Donovan, in the dry goods business.
Mr. G. H. Jennings, Assistant Cashier, was born in Fisk in Winnebago County. He attended Normal School at Oshkish and was later graduated from the Oshkosh Business College, His first bank position was held at R ed Granite, from where he came to Waupun in 1910. He was made Assistant Cashier in 1918.
In 1929, the threeJunior employees, all born and educated in Waupun High School were Merle Ihde, Teller, Daisy Rens, bookkeeper and teller, and Alice Heideman, stenographer.
On June 1, 1966, The State Bank held its ax Open House in their new building ox at 37 N. Madison Street.
In April, 1959, the Post-Tramic electric accounting machine was installed to handle checking account bookkeeping. Through the use of magnetic memory strips on the back of the monthly statements, all the facts needed for an individual account are retained in these strips. Also included is an electronic signature for each account for positive automatic identification.Acquisition
Accession
2016.0075Source or Donor
Waupun Area Chamber of CommerceAcquisition Method
Donation
