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Ryan

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When I was a kid, I viewed Veterans Day  as another holiday to commemorate distant events, and one of two times a year my Cub Scout  troop would place flags on graves at a local Veterans Cemetery.  In hindsight, I didn't even converse or thank my closest Veterans, my grandfather and father.

Following the attacks of 9/11, my subsequent joining the Navy Reserve , and a deployment to the Middle East, I have a different perspective.

This Veterans Day I would like to express appreciation to all Veterans and their spouses. To Wells Fargo, I add my appreciation — the Company is an outstanding employer of Veterans, and an outstanding banker to men and women in uniform.

Veterans Day  was originally founded as Armistice Day, a day to commemorate the cessation of fighting on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Unfortunately the "War to End all Wars" was not — and the world and United States have been party to another World War, and countless conflicts since then. In 1954, President Eisenhower converted the holiday to Veterans Day, to honor all American Veterans.

Wells Fargo's service to the military and its members goes back a century and a half. Wells Fargo transported coin and currency for military payroll to remote army posts in California and Arizona. During World War I and World War II, large percentages of its employees were activated for military service

Talk about customer service! At the outbreak of World War I when Americans fleeing Europe abandoned luggage in their haste, Wells Fargo's Vice President of Traffic, F. S. Holbrook, took it upon himself to gather 400 abandoned trunks and ship them to Wells Fargo warehouses in America where they were matched with their owners — free of charge. Wells Fargo continued to operate through London and Paris correspondent offices during the entire war, and assisted countless American doughboys in transferring letters and remittances stateside.

Several of the members of Wells Fargo's family tree were founded specifically to serve men and women in the military. One example is the Army National Bank of Fort Lewis, Washington.

Another bank, through the Norwest lineage, has continued to this day as Wells Fargo Worldwide Military Banking, a bank within a bank that focuses on serving our men and women in uniform.

During World War II, one-quarter of Wells Fargo's employees served in the military — including Isaias Hellman III, who was elected President of the bank while still serving in the Army Air Corps. That war also saw women join the workforce in higher numbers. By the end of World War II, women comprised 60% of Wells Fargo employees.

Wells Fargo continues to go above and beyond in supporting team members who are in the Guard and Reserve.  In addition to providing benefits for mobilized employees that are in excess of mandated USERRA  minimums, Wells Fargo sponsors an internal employee organization, the Wells Fargo Military Veterans Resource Group, which provides a network of support for employees and family members. The organization is open to all employees regardless of past or present military affiliation.

So this Veterans Day I would like to thank all remaining Veterans from World War II, "the Greatest Generation." I would like to thank all Veterans of the "Forgotten War," the Korean War. I would like to thank all Veterans of the Vietnam War. I would like to thank all Veterans of the Gulf War. I would like to thank all Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

I would also like to thank all military spouses, including my own, Alice, who take care of the broken air-conditioners, flat-tires, and bills while the service member is deployed. I would like to thank all children who miss their nightly bedtime story or Saturday game with their deployed parent.

I would also like to thank all employers, especially Wells Fargo, of members of the Guard and Reserve who go above and beyond in their flexibility and support for their employees who are called away at a moment's notice for an unknown time period.

All of these parties named are part of the support network that assists the service member during deployment, and enable him or her to stay focused on the mission over there so we can sleep soundly over here.

Thank you for your service at all levels! Happy Veterans Day!

Charles

It's that time of year again! We haul out the decorations, start addressing cards to loved ones, plan get-togethers...Yes, it's Hispanic Heritage Month , one of my favorite times of the year.

These past couple years here at GBH, we've reflected on Salvadoran heritage, famous customers and a memorable team member. We got a well-timed visit from a norteño band. Hispanic business has certainly a part of Wells Fargo's success. Latino customers transact business, and Latino team members provide customer service.

Wells Fargo's Express network moved from east to Golden West via Panama.  Wells Fargo had agents in Panama to assist pioneers in their journey to the Gold Rush. In January 1853, Henry Wells traveled by sea to San Francisco, to assess the business.

From Panama, he wrote, "I am alive & kicking but awful sore & some tired. I have found our Agents the very best men on the entire route — men of the highest standards & great energy."

In North America, Overland stagecoaches rolled through territories that had been northernmost Mexico only a few years earlier. Colorado House was opened in Old Town San Diego in 1852 and housed the Wells Fargo Express office. Jose Guadalupe Estudillo, scion of an old Californio  family, became Wells Fargo Agent in 1870.

In Wells Fargo's early years, gold and other important business were carried by side-wheel steamships from the Columbia River basin to points in Latin America. The steamers called at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Acapulco, where Wells Fargo agents served the growing Pacific Coast communities.

Wells Fargo established a Mexican subsidiary in 1860, Wells Fargo y Compañía Express, S.A. (Sociedad Mexicana). Offices were opened in grocery and department stores, hotels, drug stores and real estate offices.

Wells Fargo's business in Mexico (pdf) grew with the expansion of railroads in the last half of the 19th century. Wells Fargo provided rapid delivery and was the only U.S. express company offering direct service. By the turn of the century, la Compañía had over 300 offices, and fully ninety-eight percent of employees were Mexican.

Wells Fargo's first General Agent in El Salvador was J.C. Ybarra (pdf) in 1913. He oversaw thirteen agents and their offices, five messengers and seven other workers. Ybarra was an eyewitness to Wells Fargo's role in the economic stability of that era. He wrote that he and his staff had the "honor of being employees of a Company which has enlarged, in the commercial history of the New World, the era of progress and prosperity." In Cuba, (pdf) Wells Fargo had regularly scheduled business via steamships since the late 1800s. Wells Fargo handled money orders and traveler's checks for Cubans and tourists, and expanded steamship services to various destinations from the island.

We all personally celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month because we Historians are keenly aware that Hispanics have been a critical part of Wells Fargo's presence since the very beginning.

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!

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!

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.