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> Thursday, July 26, 1956 SUPPLEMENT W THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER PROUD HISTORY RECALLS HIGHLIGHTS OF HALF CENTURY SERVING LOCAL PUBLIC .. /--" V • The long proud history of the 0McHei..-y State Bank actually began on June 2, 1906. It was on this date that application %vas made to the State Auditor for permission to organize a State Bank at West McHenry: the state's consent was given two days later. Subscriptions for. $25,000 in capital stock were taken with the original list of stockholders composed of Simon Stoffel. W. VJ>P. Wagnor, Joseph J. Fox, Carl Stenger, R. G. Shumway. S. B. Hanley, George H. Hanley, F. H. Wattles, Joseph W. Freund. P. S. Webster, N. J. Justen and E. L. Wagner. The stockholders met in the office of Simop Stoffel and organized as tlie West McHenry . State Bank The first board of directors consisted of Simon Stoffel, F. H. Wattles, George H. Hanley, Edwin Wagner and Parker S. Webster. The first officers of the new bank were Edwin L. Wagner, president,. P. S. Webster and Simon Stoffel, vice-presidents,' and Carl W. Stenger, cashier. . The bank opened for business Monday, Sept. 10. 1906. in the Brefeld*1 building on the south side of Main street. The first employee of the bank was Jujia Stoffel Reihansperger. '* Dr. C- H. Fegers, was elected to a directorship in 1909 and was also named vice-president. It was in 1914 that the board of directors reported purchasing the lot west of P. B. Freund's saloon for a new bank site. Later the same -year, a contract for construction of a new bank building was let to Nachtagel Manufacturing company of Grand Rapids, Mich. At this time,, total deposits were around a quarter of a million dollars. Among the employees in these early years were Joseph J. Sutton and Joseph A. Stenger. Tlie new building was completed and ready for occupancy in the spring of 1915. which was the same year F. A. Bohlander was elceted to the board of directors. In 1916 the capital stock of the bank, was • increased to $50,000 and it was during this year that E. L. Wagner was named the first chairman of the board of, directors' and Dr. H. Fegers was elected president of the bank. During the war years, tf.e West McHenry State Bank joined the Maximum War Savings club. The bank also handled the sale of liberty bonds for the government. Some of the employees up to this period included Edwin Heimer, Lenora Freund Cooley and Gerald J. Carey, who was appointed assistant cashier in 1918. By 1920 deposits had reached almost a half million dollars and W. E. Bradley and Richard B. Walsh had been added to the board of directors. In 1923 Carl W. Stenger was elected to replace Mr. Bradley, who died during the previous year. The year 1923 also showed an increase of over $200,000 in deposits and Verona Niesen Kent and Ellen Walsh were named assistant cashiers. Other employees during the roaring twenties included Alfred 1 J. Richardson, Pender Walsh Weber and Viola Stilling Jurgens. , The mid-twentie<s saw several changes in ,the bank's official family. Dr. Fegers was taken by death and Carl W. Stenger replaced him as bank president in 1924. William Spencer joined the board of directors the following year. Parker S. Webster was nameds President in 1926, with Verona Nielsen Kent being ap- ! pointed cashier and Robert L. Weber and Floyd M. Foss assistant cashiers. It was during the same year that Gerald J. Carey returned from a stretch of military service and a position as bank examiner to be appointed vice-president and genera] manager. He was elected cashier the following year. It was in 1927 that the banking hours were changed to allow the employees a half day off each week during the summer months. Genevieve Carey Wohl, Harold J. Bacon and Augustine M. Freund were new employees with Bacon being named assistant cashier in 1930. It was in 1930 that Parker J. Webster, one of the original directors, died and another original director, Simon Stoffel, was named president and F. A. Bohlander vice-president. Fred Bel- PROMINENT IN BANK'S EARLY HISTORY SIMON STOFFEL Simon Stoffel, one of the founders of the West McHenry State Bank, was also one of the original directors. He served as vice-president from 1906 until his election as president in 1930. He held the post of president of the bank until his death in 1942. DR. C. H. FEGERS JOSEPH W. FREUND Dr. C. H. Fegers was named Joseph W. Freund. one of the a director and vice-president of original stockholders, served on the West McHenry State Bank the board of directors from 1934 • „w, . A j until his retirement from the in 1909. Dr. JFegers was elected board ,n 19-0 president of the bank in 1916 and served until his death in 1924. ler and James P. Nicholson were added to the board of directors in 1930 and C. E. Sherman in 1932. Frank Wattles, another of the original directors, was named chairman of the board in 1932. The year 1933 saw William M. Carroll, Charles J. Reihansperger and Gerald J. Carey elected directors. TTiey were joined the following year by Joseph W. Freund and Dr. N. J. Nye. West McHenry State Bank took over the deposits and assets of the People's State Bank and the Ringwood State Bank in 1933. Floyd Foss was named an assistant cashier in 1933, other employees in the early thirties included; Rosalie Stilling Bafnikol, Marion Wegener Nimsgern and Maurice J.. Schreiner, Membership in the Federal Deposit Insurance corporation - was obtained in 1935. Richard B. Walsh was name^ vice-president in 1934 and William M. Carroll was elected to this position in 1935. Chairman of the board Frank H. Wattles, died after thirty years of service on the board of directors. The following year, 1937, William M. Carroll was named chairman, a position, he still holds. The same year found Charles J. Reihansperger elected to his current position as vicepresident. Dr. N. J. Nye was taken by death in 1938 and his place on the board was taken by Dr. William A. Nye the following year. The local bank joined the Federal Reserve system in 1938. Among the employees of the late thirties were Dorothy Althoff Beckenbaugh, Harry A. Anderson, Bernice E. Freund, Rita Freund Savler and Eleanor Bolger Sullivan. By 1940 deposits had reached a million dollars and by 1943 were in excess of two and onehalf million dollars. On April 23. 1942, the last of the original board of directors was taken by death when President Simon Stoffel died. Mr. Stoffel, one of the founders of the bank, had served as officer and director for thirty-six years. The following year, Gerald J. Carey and Robert L. Weber were elevated to their current positions as president and cashier. respectively. Lillian Nordin Larson was named as assistant cashier after several years of faithful service and remained with the bank during the war years. In 1946 the name of the bank was changed to McHenry State Bank. Elaine Heimer Laures, Margaret Johnston Adams, Barbara Nelson. Betty Orr Benson. Herbert C. Reihansperger, Laura Sherman Smith. Mary Lou Stoffel Ekstrom. Billie Waldmann Eagle and Lura Yanda were Pag« THtm Interior Of Old Bank Building Shortly After Opening In 1915. ARL \V. STENGER FRANK H WATTLES Carl W. Stenger was the first cashier of the West McHenry State Bank (now the McHenry State Bank* and served in that capacity until his resignation in 1926. He also served as president of the bank for two years. He currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. Frank H. Wattles served on the board of directors of the | West McHenry State Bank from ; its founding in 1906 until his death in 1936. At the time of his death, he was chairman of the board of directors. Congratulations to the McHenry State Bank, its president, Gerald J. Carey; cashier, Robert L. Weber; officers, directors and personnel, on the occasion of the Grand Opening of their New Bank. Shedd-Brown, Inc., takes great pride in the fact that we have been furnishing the bank its calendars, "The Original Systementry" continuously since 1925-- Brown, Inc. Calendars - Specialties - "Gifts Represented by Roy L. McCreery - Aurora, Illinois PHONE 6-3165 - Best for Continued Growth to the McHENRY STATE BANK' ; PARKING AREA BY SUBURBAN OIL COMPANY CRYSTAL LAKE, ILLINOIS among the employees of this period and deposits exceeded five million dollars. James E. Larkin was appointed to his current position of assistant cashier in 1946 and Verne E. Harrison and Thomas F. Bolger attained the position two years later. Margaret ha Krause Spurling retired after having taken care of the maintenance from almost the beginning of the bank's history. The late Mrs. Spurling has the distinction of serving the bank longer than ^ny other employee. The McHenry State Bank's capital stock was increased to $100,000 in 1949. A year later the present board was completed with the election of Robert L. Weber as director. Among the employees up to this time were Barbara Carey Zieman, Dolores Powell Fish, Diane Freund Neiss. Marian Freund Kennebeck. Bernice Krueger Smale. Mildred Kuring, Kathryn Nye Bolger. Nancy Rudin Humphrey. Marjorie Siemon, Sally Smale Zehm and Jean Schmitt Sund. The McHenry State Bank went on a five day week Jn 1953. By this time deposits totaled almost nine million dollars. Included in the list of employees of later years are Darlene Andrews Huemann. Frances Bieschke Scholz. Gwen Bieschke Bower, Martha Boldt. Janet Engstrom Fruik. Beverly Longhway, Terry Miller Becker. I.ona Nowak Patzke. Harold J. Nye, Barbara Schmitt. Jean Schmitt Vogel, Geraldine Thompson, Norma Kay Tice, Robert L. Weber. Jr.. and Mary Ann Wiedrich Wegener. NEW CHECK SERVICE COMBINES BEAUTY WITH PROTECTION . Thousands of people over a wide area of Illinois -- and beyond -- will see the handsome new building of the McHenry State Bank pictured in two colors on the hank's new checks. The checks were designed and manufactured by the Todd company of Rochester, N.Y., leading | producer of protected, insured checks for banks and business firms all over the world. Because the Todd company estimates that the average chock is handled by 16 people, during the course of its active life, the new McHenry State Bank checks were designed with an eye to maximum advertising effectiveness for the bank and the town. | The attractive red brick struci ture is pictured in natural colors against the w e 11 - s h r u b b e d grounds. ' The checks are of the Super- ' Safety type and embody the latj est scientific safeguards against alteration and forgery. If acid ! ink eradicator is used by a ; would-be check crook, hundreds ! of hidden "VOID" markings 1 flash into view, cancelling tiic check forever. If mechanical erasure is attempted, the surface ' design disappears, leaving a telltale white area virtually impossible to restore. "In designing these new checks I for our depositors, we ha\o j woYked with top experts in the field," said Mr. Gerald J. Carey, president of the McHenry State Bank. "They represent the finest in attractive, protected checks. Their protective features are hacked up hv an insurance policy indemnifying depositors •gainst.) losses from alteration:" A free . customer service enables checking account customers to obtain pocket checks imprinted with their names -- without charge -- in a matter of minutes. These new personalized checks are produced so quickly that a person opening a new checking account can obtain a book of checks imprinted with his name >in less than two minutes, A special lobby display of the Todd Imprinter, the newest development in banking, will be on display during open house. Installation of the Todd Imprinting service marks another forward step by McHenry Statp Bank to provide it? customers with the most modern banking facilities available. ANOTHER FINE RINEHIMER INSTALLATION For 89 years we have served many Fox Valley institutions with Fine Architectural Woodwork and we are proud to add the McHenry State Bank to this long list. Our Good Wishes to this beautiful and warm structure. RIM1HIMER BROS. • Elgin C ongratulations To The McHenry Slate Bank On Its 50th Anniversary FLOOR TILE In T t New BuSldi Installed By CHAIN 0' LAKES FLOOR COVERING CO. Phone Kimball 6-2167 Long Lake • Round Lake, IK.