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Bill Taylor

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On Monday, I blogged about Northwestern National Bank's centennial idea to have a "Pioneer Bank" then a "Future Bank." Wells Fargo team member Leslie Swan worked at both when she began her career in banking. She shared with me the popularity of the Pioneer Bank.

Now...to the Future Bank!

The Pioneer Bank's life span was planned to last six months. The space was then quickly renovated into a new banking experience called "The Future Bank." Where Pioneer Bank had offered a glimpse of the past, the Future Bank was to give banking customers a tangible look forward into the future.

The fully functional teller line offered the same personalized services that conventional tellers provided. But if customers chose to, they could also access bank services by space age  machines that must have seemed worthy of George Jetson.  A 24-Hour Total Teller Machine allowed $25 or $50 dollar withdrawals (with a $100 per day limit). A Picture Phone, with a direct line to personal banking, served as the directory of information on departments and services. The Banking Services Information Console was a kiosk with videotaped information on various banking services. The information included instructions on how to write yourself a loan from Ready Reserve, use the Instant Cash Card, and how to determine which savings account was best for the customer.

Most intriguing to me were Video Tellers and a Self-Service Postal Center. At the One Universal TV Tellers, customers conversed with tellers via closed circuit TV, using pneumatic tubes to send the work back and forth. Video Tellers were touted as having "Mechanical efficiency with a personal touch." The Self-Service Postal Center, which seems monstrous by today's standards, sold stamps, accepted letters and packages, and contained a "Hotline" connection to the main post office information desk....

Bill Taylor

At the Wells Fargo History Museums, it is our job to interpret, discuss, and relay history to our visitors. I find it fascinating that we are often the recipients of history from our visitors.

In Minneapolis recently, team member Leslie Swan told me about some of her more memorable experiences working for Northwestern National Bank at the beginning of her career. She had the unique experience of working in both the "Pioneer Bank" — a fully functional turn of the century replica bank — and the "Future Bank," a fully functional bank that highlighted the future of banking, including ATMs, an automated post office, and video bankers. Both "Pioneer Bank" and "Future Bank" were created to celebrate Northwestern National Bank's centennial in 1972.

Let me share what I learned from Leslie.

The Pioneer Bank
The Pioneer Bank opened March 23, 1972, to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of Northwestern National Bank in Minneapolis. Housed in a small section of the building's main floor, the Pioneer Bank replicated an 1890s bank, with authentic fixtures and employees dressed in period costume. There was even a turn-of-the-century entrance on 7th Street.

A Centennial Committee, working with retired bank historian Tony Dokken, spent six months researching and acquiring 1890s period items for the Pioneer Bank. The authentic turn of the century teller's cages, and a high table for hand ledger postings, were found in the Elrosa, Minnesota  State Bank Building. The Minnesota Historical Society  loaned other items, such as a period typewriter, check perforator, a letter scale, Dictaphone, hat rack, umbrella stand and spittoon. A lobby writing desk and other bank fixtures came from the North American State Bank in Belgrade, Minnesota.  A period roll-top desk was located in an Iowa office building.

Portraits of presidents Washington, Lincoln, Garfield, and Grant decorated the walls, along with a portrait of Dorilus Morrison, NWNB bank's first president and Minneapolis' first mayor....

Charles

When I wrote about Wells Fargo's 1916 office in the Philippines a couple weeks ago, I got this response:

Thanks for this entry. My wife grew up in the Philippines and I just eat up anything I can regarding FIlipino [sic] history, especially pre WWII. I think it is very important for me to learn as much about Pinoy history and culture as I can so I can help my childeren [sic] understand and be proud of their own heritage and see Filipino culture as something deeper than what we see on ASAP & The Buzz (popular Filipino TV shows). So, thanks for the post. A question: how long did Wells maintain a presence in the Philippines and what were the reasons for their exit from the island?

Thanks!
Dave

Before I answer Dave's question, this is a great example for why we celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month. (Indeed, all diversity.) Not only have people from different places and cultures contributed to our national parade, as it were, they also have — are! — contributing every moment. As with Dave and his family, they get married, move to new places, have kids and send them to school. They do everything that everybody does. Recognizing diversity isn't about calling out the differences one day or one month each year, it's about seeing all we have in common, beneath the physical and cultural differences.

From there, sharing any differences makes everybody better off. I mean, how can you be suspicious of Southeast Asian differences after you've eaten cuisine from the region? How can you dismiss Latin Americans' differences after you learn Spanish and discover its poetic genius, maybe the loveliest expression of being human?

OK, I'm getting all worked up about the potential of One World , so I'll stop. Just promise me you'll go to the next local ethnic festival , eat the food and listen to the sounds. It's a day well spent, and I stake my good looks on it!

Back to Dave's question about Wells Fargo in the Philippines. Wells Fargo & Co.'s Express opened offices there starting in 1902. In 1918, the Express was absorbed by the U.S. Government as a wartime measure, but Wells Fargo Bank continued operations in San Francisco. With dozens of correspondent offices worldwide, including 16 in the Philippines, Wells Fargo Bank transacted financial services around the globe.

In 1935, Wells Fargo Chairman Frederick L. Lipman declared, "The Bank of the Philippines at Manila is an old correspondent." Since the 1960s, relationships with other international financial services companies, and Wells Fargo's own remittance services, continue Wells Fargo's global reach.

Short answer: Wells Fargo is still there!

Megan

One of the last things you'd expect to see while waiting around for some foreign currency is a photo of your grandpa. But that's what happened to Nell, a visitor at our museum in Minneapolis. While her son exchanged money for a trip to Argentina, Nell browsed our exhibit cases and caught a strange site: A photo of her grandfather, J. Raymond Smith, smiling from behind the wheel of an automobile.

Smith started working for Northwestern National Bank  in Minneapolis in 1909. He started as a bank messenger, and worked his up to become Comptroller.  He took his job seriously (though not overly seriously, maybe, judging by the photos). Nell told us he would stay up all night to get the annual Statement of Condition completed, and have it delivered to the Minneapolis Star  for publication on January first every year.

Nell lived with her grandfather while she was growing up. She fondly recalls this gregarious man who loved to hunt and fish. Turns out the "J" in Smith's name was just an initial, by the way. It didn't stand for anything.

It just so happens that in our Northwestern National Bank collection we have a series of lantern glass slides , that capture bank employees, both hard at work and having fun. These images were part of that series. Luckily, we were able to provide the photos as a Mother's Day present to Nell's mother (Ray's daughter) who isn't able to visit the museum in person.

Charles

Amanda Hopper is an interpreter at the Old Sacramento History Museum. She joined Wells Fargo in May of 2007. Amanda enjoys giving tours and sharing Wells Fargo’s history with all the visitors to Old Sacramento.

So do the right thing — drop everything and call your Mom right now. (Just don't use the Company phone!) (CR)

This is a very special Mother's Day  for me. It's the first I get to celebrate as a Mom. My daughter Marlee is 6 months old, and in the short time I've been a Mom, I have learned quite a bit.

One thing I've learned is that the flowers I've been giving my own Mom for 25 years are not what she really wants.

What she really wants is to know that she is loved, and that I appreciate everything she has ever done — and continues to do for me.

I took all the classes I could to prepare for Motherhood, but nothing could prepare me for the reality .  In the past six months, I've:

• been thrown up on 
• been peed on 
• gone days without a shower 
• slept no more  than 5 hours a night

(Although I'm not sure I'd really call it "sleeping." What I do is lay in bed with my eyes closed, listening to my daughter breathe and waiting to hear her move so I can go pick her up.)

I've prepared bottles at 1:00am. I have to eat my own meals like I'm in an eating contest. My boss thinks the baby ate my brain, because I had to be re-trained on everything when I came back from maternity leave. I spend my days tired and cranky, with a constant "to-do" list in my head. I spend the paycheck on formula, diapers and wipes. And new clothes for Marlee every 8 weeks.

If it sounds like I'm complaining, I'm not. My daughter is the best thing that ever happened to me. Every day is a new experience. I don't mind that my brain and my body will never be the same — she is worth it, and I love every second of being her Mom.

So I have a new-found wisdom on this Mother's Day.  Apart from flowers or jewelry, or however you honor your Mother, try this year to tell your Mom how much you appreciate her. How much you appreciate all the sacrifices she made for you. Try to tell her how you appreciate that she has loved you so unconditionally for your whole life.

Melissa

Being a connoisseur of mid-20th Century clothing —and with spring fast approaching—I have been spurred to begin wearing some of my more authentic ensembles. It may also have something to do with the fact that our museum here in Minneapolis just recently finished our newest exhibit, "Riding into Popular Culture," a fantastic multi-media display relating Wells Fargo's colorful influence (in most cases)  on different forms of entertainment  in the mid-20th Century. The exhibit contains many photos and movie posters , as well as the film we have running on "Wells Fargo in the Cinema."

This brings us to our April staff meeting. Megan, Terry, Bill and I were just sitting down in our cushy velvet movie theater seats  when a gentleman and his granddaughter approached us. He pointed at me and said "see, here, look at this!" to his pre-teen companion. We were all a bit confused, and then he asked me to stand up and turn around. "See! Look at that!" he continued, "my mother used to wear stockings like that every day! See the seam?" Apparently, he noticed my Cuban heeled seamed stockings  when he was in the museum earlier. The gentleman came all the way back to show his granddaughter this little piece of history! Needless to say I was flattered that he had noticed this small authentic touch. However, I was more than a little red-faced   to be modeling them in front of my boss and co-workers!

The Wells Fargo History Museum, now giving advice on the ins and outs of your Stock(ing ) Portfolio! (I know, I know...)

Ileana

Our tour season is certainly under way here in the Los Angeles museum. Every year, February through June is the time when most schools decide to come visit us. Something that came to mind recently, as I was doing one of my 4th grade tours, is how much things have really changed for women in the last 150 years, and how truly glad I am to be living in this century!

It came about as I was telling my students the story of Charlie Parkhurst.  Charlie was a renowned and skilled stage driver in his day — one of the best. He drove for almost 20 years here in California. He was short, slim, and kind of quiet, perhaps because of his high-pitched voice. When Charlie passed away and they were preparing his body for burial, they realized he had kept a huge secret his whole life.

To what that secret was, there are some very entertaining guesses from creative 4th graders:

"He was a robot?" 
"He was actually a thief?"
"He had a golden eye?" 

Someone always hits the bulls-eye: "He was a girl?"

Yes.

Her name was Charlotte. Of course, the reaction to this is usually a roomful of laughing kids. So what strikes me is how silly it seems to a child today that a woman should have to live as something she’s not.

And why? So we come upon a "vocab" word: discrimination. Despite the Delia Rawsons and Mary Fieldses  of those days, women were not readily hired by stage lines to be drivers. Women did not have the same rights or privileges  as men in the 19th century, or before. This is something we adults recognize, but it's a pretty new idea for these children.

What's interesting to me is how, as recently as 50 years ago , a 4th grade girl would have seen her world  in a very different light than one of my 4th grade girls today, who laughs at the thought of having to dress up as a man in order to do what you want to do in life. In order to be treated the same. In order to vote, as Charlie did in 1868.

And I wonder: Would I have had the courage to be a "Charlie?" Would you have seen a short, slim, quiet museum curator with a secret around 150 years ago?

Well, I'm glad that I — and these 4th grade girls — won't have to make a decision like that!

After spending the last 20 years working in Wachovia's corporate archives, it shouldn't surprise me when I come across historical milestone gems while researching totally unrelated topics. It happened again last week. I probably wouldn't have even noticed this particular 1958 oral history, but since March is Women's History Month, it caught my eye.

Miss Jay Spencer Knapp had no idea just how far ahead of her time she was when she became Atlanta's first female bank officer in 1921. She had come to work for the Lowry National Bank  — a predecessor bank of First Atlanta, and subsequently Wachovia  — in 1904.

Her position was to be the secretary and stenographer for all bank officers at Lowry, including its founder and president, Colonel Robert Lowry. She recalled that "Colonel Lowry was not very interested in letter writing as he was an active man in his early years. Even in his late years, he preferred talking to customers and making contacts to sitting at his desk and handling office routine.";

Miss Knapp handled all banking done by mail, and prepared all of the cashier's checks. At that time, the officers' desks were along the rail that separated the office space from the banking room floor. Her desk was in the middle of this group so she was able to watch the everyday flow of business and take notes when the officers consulted with each other.

Later Miss Knapp became Mr. H. Warner Martin's personal secretary when he became vice president. She remembered that "Mr. Martin was a very quiet and retiring man and not much of a mixer or sociable being. He was very serious about his banking."; Martin had risen through the ranks and became president in 1921.

On the evening before the annual directors meeting in January 1921, Mr. Martin paid Miss Knapp a visit. He told her he was going to nominate her the next day for an officer's post in the bank. Miss Knapp told him if he thought she was qualified to be an assistant cashier, she would be proud to have the job.

She had worked closely with many bankers for years and remembered with pride the letters that flowed in from bankers across the country congratulating her on her election.

Just two years after her election as a bank officer, she became the vice president for the Southern Region in the Association of Bank Women. 

In 1928, Miss Knapp's uncle, who lived in Paris, invited her to visit. She decided that 25 years in the banking business had been long enough. She turned in her letter of resignation, effective March 30, 1929. She reflected on her banking career with a great deal of fondness, recalling her years working in the bank as "a very good connection which was the source of many of my lasting friendships."

We are very proud of the career accomplishments of Miss Jay Spencer Knapp. She was certainly among a very elite group of career women 88 years ago!

Charles

Rachelle Stewart works in Southern California for Wells Fargo, helping Team members develop their customer service skills. Rachelle is also a United States Marine. I asked Rachelle to give us a personal history that contributes to GBH's recognition of Women's History Month. Rachelle is a great banker and a great American, as her story reveals. But her story also demonstrates that one person doesn't just watch history roll past — she actively creates it. (CR)

As a proud United States Marine  and also a dedicated Wells Fargo team member, I was excited to learn of our company's commitment to honoring Women's History Month.

I enlisted at the young age of 17. As a former pageant queen and cheerleader of a small Southern town in east Tennessee, I entered into service to our country and continued that journey for 8 years, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant. During my years of service from 1998-2006, I supported numerous training exercises in North America, Australia, Denmark, Norway, and Japan. My occupational specialty was Aircraft Maintenance for rotary and fixed wing.

While serving, I was very fortunate to receive the Montgomery G.I. Bill , along with academic scholarships, and complete my Bachelor's degree in Clinical Psychology  with an emphasis on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder due to combat , from Middle Tennessee State University  in 2002. I was activated from the Reserves after 9/11, to support Operation Enduring Freedom  and Operation Iraqi Freedom  from coast to coast across the United States. Had it not been for an unexpected diagnosis of a chronic heart condition, I would still be in the fight for democracy and protection of the American way of life.

The Marine Corps is known as "The Few, The Proud."  Just how few women Marines there are may not be quite as well known. Females make up only 6% of the entire fleet. That is approximately 11,500 women contributing to the overall strength of what has become known as "America's 911," the United States Marine Corps. As the only branch of service to segregate by gender during boot camp, the Corps establishes the foundation of the core values — Honor, Courage, and Commitment  — while maintaining equality among all Marines. Women are forged into leaders, disciplined in the traditions of 234 years of God, Corps, and Country and remain Semper Fidelis  (Latin for "Always Faithful," the Marine Corps motto) to our mission and purpose.

Terms like "Devil Dog,"  "Leatherneck"  and "Jarhead"  are just as endearing to us females as to our male counterparts, because those names must be earned. Honor causes women Marines to hold themselves to the highest standards of excellence, ethically and morally. We define courage as the ability to face and overcome fear. It will steady you in times of stress, carry you through every challenge and aid you when facing the unknown. A spirit of determination and dedication is the commitment one finds in every female Marine. It is what compels her to serve and to seek excellence in everything she does.

These are the attributes I brought with me to Wells Fargo nearly 5 years ago while still serving in the Corps, then as a Reservist. I came to our company with a desire to exceed expectations and share my leadership abilities within a prosperous and highly developed organization that is deeply rooted in its history....

You will know my age when I reveal that the song "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,"  flower power  and the Women's Liberation movement   were big news when I was in college. Women were demanding more career options, and the great push to "have it all" was driving 1950s-era stereotypes to the curb.

My generation may tend to think that it broke the glass ceiling  for women, but in reality, the ceiling was at least cracked, decades before us. There were women — and men — who truly got it: We all can make invaluable contributions when provided the opportunity. Wachovia took this progressive viewpoint in an October 1909 issue of its magazine, The Solicitor:

The old story that the place for women is at home, or that they should be queens of households, is an insult to the progress and to the new social age...The absurdity of such an idea is sufficient to cause an acute attack of indigestion.

There is no phase of work or profession that woman has entered today that she has not blessed mankind and raised its standard of conduct...By this office work ladies become more self-reliant, self-supporting, and self-respecting. How supremely more gracious it is to see a lady performing proficiently the work of the bookkeeper or stenographer in a business office, than it is to see her wedged into a "H.M.T." buggy, or hanging on the arm of a moral shark in the ballroom, or fondling a poodle dog or a bull pup with a blue ribbon waving from its tail.

The idler, male or female, is out of place in this age of activity and equal rights. The business woman is by no means the cold, heartless being that a few effeminate men would have you believe she is. She knows a tax receipt from a bank note, a man from a suit of clothes, and a business proposition from a ‘gold-brick' scheme, whether it be in matrimony or barter.

Another astute writer noted in a March 1910 issue that "It often happens that a thrifty woman, unknown to other members of her household, will manage to save a dollar here and there, where a man could not, and many a family has been tided over periods of misfortune by this foresight of a wife or mother."

Sue's post last month described the Ladies Room at Wachovia, where women were encouraged to do their banking in an area set aside just for them. Wachovia knew that women held the purse strings in many homes-- if they were not working themselves. The bank sought them as customers long before they received the right to vote in 1920. 

John Watlington, CEO of Wachovia from 1956 to 1976, oversaw a dramatic increase in the number of female employees in management, policy development and officer positions. Mr. Watlington used to tell a story about Miss Cora Hart, who was the lone woman bookkeeper when he joined Wachovia in 1933. The head of the department had returned from the First World War and found, to his dismay, several women working in his department. He managed to get rid of all of them — except Miss Cora. According to Mr. Watlington, "she was as tough as he was, so she stuck it out."

By 1999, women accounted for 75 percent of Wachovia's work force and were represented at all levels of the company. 52 percent of the bank's officers were women and 151 females were in positions of senior vice president or above.

Clearly, Wachovia appreciated the contributions women made long before the dawning of the Age of Aquarius!