June 2009 Archives

Charles

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Guided By History continues its series of reflections as Pride month continues. Today, we welcome Tamara Peterson.

Tamara is Senior Counsel for Wells Fargo and works in the Minneapolis offices of the Law Department. She joined the Wells Fargo team in June of 2003, and became active in various diversity initiatives within a few months. (CR)

Pride month seems like a great time to consider both the joy and struggle of being a member of the LGBT community in America in 2009. I must say it is nice to have the President of the United States acknowledge Pride month  — the fact that this celebration is embraced on a national level just 40 years after Stonewall gives me great hope for the future.

I also am pleased to see the leadership found in many of our Fortune 500 companies, including Wells Fargo, which offer domestic partner benefits to their employees and include sexual orientation and gender identity protections in their non-discrimination policies. I cannot put into words how important it is to not have to worry about whether a partner's picture can be placed upon a desk or whether weekend plans should not be discussed for fear of disclosing this relationship.

It still is hard to comprehend how truly different life must have been for the participants of Stonewall. I am optimistic that our country continues to evolve with respect to how we view one another, and the importance we place on celebrating and embracing our differences rather than hiding or merely tolerating them.

I am particularly proud of the great friendships I have cultivated with people who had not previously known anyone in a same-sex couple relationship, and have found that once people get to know same-sex couples, they realize that ALL couples are alike. LBGT couples enjoy movie nights, hosting friends for dinners, taking on home projects, and spending time with each other and their pets. They share life's joys and frustrations with equal vigor, and deeply cherish family and close friends.

I have every expectation that we will continue to appreciate one another and to proudly live our life together for many years to come. That is plenty of reason in my book to toast Pride month and this year's 40th anniversary of Stonewall with zest!

Charles

Guided By History continues its series of reflections as Pride month continues. Today, we welcome Casey Gill.

Casey is Curator at our Wells Fargo History Museum in San Diego. Last fall, as you remember, Casey also re-created the first overland stagecoach journey from St. Louis to San Francisco. The trip was a huge success, and Casey doubly impressed us by surviving a hurricane in the process!

Casey's also a local legend, of sorts, whose Museum tours are a "must see" for schools and history buffs from around the globe. (CR)

In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 the patrons of the Stonewall Inn  — a bar popular with gays, transsexuals and transvestites — decided enough was enough and took a stand. Throughout the 1960s they had been harassed and prosecuted. But that early morning, when the police arrived to harass patrons, they stood their ground and fought back. They started a riot that lasted several days and sparked a movement that has lasted decades.

Growing up in the South during the 1980s, my life seemed far removed from the events of that night. Although nearly 20 years had passed since Stonewall by the time I came of age, life in my hometown could still be dangerous for a young gay person. Although much has changed now, the places we gathered then were still monitored and occasionally raided by the police. On more than one occasion, people were greeted with eggs thrown from a passing car, along with taunts and slurs and threats.

When I moved to San Diego in 1993, I discovered a whole new and liberating existence. There were places — whole neighborhoods, in fact — where gays were not only accepted but welcomed.

One of those places was Wells Fargo.

The pressure to hide who you really are at work can be an especially terrible burden, and in many cases can limit your career potential. But at Wells Fargo that burden has been lifted. Wells Fargo has a long proud tradition of honoring and encouraging diversity — all kinds of diversity. For decades, Wells Fargo has welcomed and valued the contributions of the LGBT community. In doing so, they have created a culture of inclusion and tolerance. In this kind of work environment, the only limits are ones we place on ourselves.

During this month of Pride celebrations, parades and festivals, it's important we remember those brave souls from Stonewall. But we should also take a moment to thank the important partners we have had along the way in companies like Wells Fargo.

I, for one, take great pride in working for a company that celebrates and supports not just the LGBT community, but all the communities it serves.

Charles

As we have done with many other diversity Months — Black History,Women's History, Hispanic Heritage, Asian Pacific heritage — Guided By History is presenting a series of posts celebrating Pride month. This year is especially important, as it marks the 40th anniversary of Stonewall and the beginning of LGBT awareness.

Tim Collins is Wells Fargo's Experiential Marketing Chief. He oversees several Marketing operations, including the History Team. Recently, I asked him about his experiences since Stonewall. Tim's life is a terrific historical marker for the progress of this movement: its development — and his — move across time together. (CR)

CR: Stonewall happened when you were in grade school — right at the end of the year. Do you remember that particular heat spell, which was happening that week? Did you see anything on TV?
TC: The Stonewall riots  happened when I was 10 years old. It was local news in New York, but not in Philadelphia, where I grew up. I do remember the heat wave though. Everyone was worried there might be a repeat of the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy a year earlier.

CR: What were your impressions? How did they connect with your own developing sense of yourself?
TC: I knew I was gay when I was four years old. But I never let anyone know until I was twenty.

CR: Within a short time, Gay activism emerged as the 60s quieted down. Gay rights got a bigger spotlight. What was your experience?
TC: I started to hear more about Stonewall in subsequent years. New York held the first commemoration only a month later, but it really took off as an annual event. There were regular events — Christopher Street  in New York, and "Christopher Street West"  in LA. Then came Anita Bryant  and Harvey Milk.  The media started to report on it. That’s when I knew that I was not alone.

CR:: During the 80s, AIDS radically changed Gay life. But I also remember LGBT people were more and more — what’s the right word? — usual in those years: LGBT people were visible everyday, where only a few years earlier they were not. What was that era like for you?
TC: The onset of AIDS was a particularly terrible time. I remember throwing out address books every two years because most of the people in it were dead. But over the years there was more hope than hopelessness, as we have made progress in employment, safety, health and family. Since then, Pride month has provided an annual snapshot of the struggle of LGBT people around the world.

CR:: What were your challenges over the years? What things ended up being easier than you expected? What things ended up being more difficult than you expected?
TC: When I was 20, my mother found out I was gay. She cried because she worried that I could never get married and I would die alone. But it worked out OK — as you know, Darrell and I celebrated our 20th anniversary last year. I sooo wish she had been alive to see it. It’s a long way from Stonewall.

CR:: Since then, you’re a Wells Fargo executive. What’s your experience with Wells Fargo as a place to work?
TC: I am sooo proud to work for a company that has been supportive from the beginning…since 1986.

Woohoo!

Charles

Today — Juneteenth — is the American emancipation holiday. On June 19, 1865, Union Army troops marched into Galveston, Texas and officially proclaimed freedom for enslaved people there. From its origins almost 150 years ago, observance of Junteenth has spread across the country.

The National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign  is an organization that is working to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Rev. Ronald Myers, Sr., M.D. is Chairman of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation , as well as the Holiday Campaign. When he contacted me last year about Juneteenth, "Doc" wrote, "Juneteenth is America’s 2nd Independence Day celebration. 29 states  recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday or state holiday observance, as well as the Congress of the United States." Since last year, two more states are on that list.

There are ample reasons to observe Juneteenth. The main one is plain: It's an Independence Day , as significant as the one we celebrate on July 4th. 

I also believe, without trying to be trite or simplistic, that another holiday in summer is good for the soul. Summer holidays are the best. We are outside, we gather as family and friends, we laugh a lot, cook great food. Old guys show young whippersnappers that they can still get wood on the ball, and someone learns the secret ingredient to that blue-ribbon sauce. Juneteenth comes just as school gets out for the summer, so everyone has high hopes and big plans. It's Solstice , so the day lasts till 9:00 p.m., and the kids sleep that perfect sleep after playing hard, all day. It comes a couple weeks before the 4th, so the two become inextricably connected, a "liberty period," if you will, where Americans live their independence spirit as much as they mark it.

And when you think of the hows and whys of Juneteenth and July 4th, you get the sense that the observance is a celebration in common, that we come together, with all our differences, to share a singular experience. At long last.

Charles

June is Pride month across the US. There are parades, festivals and other events in a ton of locations — Charlotte , Albuquerque , Salt Lake City . And San Francisco. 

What I found distinctly interesting was the New York City  events, which have a definite historical element. Gay rights, as with all history, is a continuum of people seeking to live their lives with dignity. But there are "charter" moments, so to speak, when people simply insist on their lawful rights, a place at the table.

For Gay Rights, the Stonewall riots in 1969  energized a movement that continues each summer to celebrate its successes and motivate the necessary effort to keep people working for their civil rights, person by person.

Wells Fargo supports the communities it serves and has recognized the LGBT community for over 20 years. In the 80s, Wells Fargo was instrumental in adopting a non-discrimination policy against people living with HIV and AIDS, and the term "sexual orientation" was added to the company's non-discrimination policy. In1986, Wells Fargo gave its first LGBT donation.

LGBT Pride Month celebrations recognize the positive impact and contributions of LGBT individuals to society. Over the next couple weeks, Guided By History will share some personal stories from Wells Fargo team members who have lived their Pride.

Pride, in this sense, is an affirmation of one's self and the community as a whole. Wells Fargo is proud. I myself am proud. Get out there and contribute your pride as well!

Phyllis

You might be a Wells Fargo History Museum Buff IF…

1. You can tell the difference between a Concord coach and a Celerity wagon. 
2. You never refer to stagecoach drivers as cowboys.
3. Your Netflix list includes "Stagecoach,"  "Winds of the Wasteland"  and "Wells Fargo."
4. Your idea of work clothes means petticoats or sleeve garters.
5. You know more about the history of Wells College  than about your own alma mater.
6. You write more blog entries for Guided by History than you do for your own blog.
7. Your vacation plans include visiting other Wells Fargo History Museums.
8. Your kids have their pictures taken in the replica stagecoach at least once a year.
9. Your coworkers from other departments think you have the coolest job at Wells Fargo.
10. You agree with them!

Bill Taylor

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....