PATRICK'S PEOPLE: The Bank of Mindenmines is a century strong

The Bank of Mindenmines, Mo., is ending its first century in excellent health.

“We have a  five-star superior rating from Bauer Financial, and we’re among the safest banks in America,” said Barry Draper, only the fifth man to serve as the bank’s president in the last 100 years.

The Capital Performance Group has named it as one of Banking Top Performers of 2011 in the ABA Banking Journal’s 20 annual rankings. The CPG has ranked the Mindenmines bank No. 14 in Non-S Banks under $1 Billion asset-size.

The bank’s “birthday cards” include the Missouri Bakers Association Century Bank Plaque and the 100 years plaque from the Independent Community Bankers of America.

The public will get to help the bank celebrate its centennial Monday at the Liberal office, and on Tuesday at the Mindenmines office. There will be refreshments and gifts throughout the day and hot dogs and chips served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The financial institution received its Certificate of Incorporation from the State of Missouri Banking Department on July 31, 1912.  

“We have operated under that same charter for 100 years,” Draper said. “We still have the original charter. There were 29 original investors who put in a total of $10,000. I don’t want to list their names because there might be privacy issues, but they included some family names well known in Pittsburg and in Lamar, Mo.”

Speaking of names, the Bank of Mindenmines has never been called anything else.

“We have never had a name change,” said Norella Parker, widow of John Parker, the fourth president. “We’ve had three buildings, but all in the same block.”

The current bank home, built in 2006, is at 601 Main in Mindenmines.

The first president was H.C. Chancellor, followed by W.E. Barkley and M.A. Caslavka. John Parker started at the bank in 1941 and was still working part-time when he died in 2003.

“When John became president, he immediately got FDIC insurance,” his wife said. “We didn’t have it before then. This was around 1969.”

Around 1984 the bank got its first IBM computer.

“We ran dual books at least two years because John didn’t trust computers,” said Draper, who joined the bank staff in January of 1985. “Finally we had to choose one or the other, and obviously we went with computers.”

In 1986 the bank purchased Farmers State Bank at Liberal, Mo.

The bank now has 16 employees divided between its two locations.

“We have a very good staff,” said Sondra Smith, bank vice president.

Currently, staff members have a combined total of 252 years of service.

Parker remembers that, when she started in 1949, there were only four  running the bank — herself, her husband, another woman and Caslavka, the president .
She also remembers a few robberies, including one in which she and others at the bank were shut into the vault. It was a frightening experience for all concerned, including the robber.

“The poor kid doing the robbery was shaking so hard,” Parker said. “He asked if we’d die if he put us in the vault and we said no. We weren’t even in the vault very long because John had things in there so we could get out.”

Another time, Parker said, a man wearing a mask tried to hold up the bank.

“Even with the mask, John recognized him as a customer,” she said.

Draper said that other would-be robbers spent the better part of a night trying to dig through a bank wall.

“They never did get in,” he said. “I think they ran out of darkness.”

They have seen many changes in the banking industry over the years.

“I think the biggest changes have been the introduction of computers,” Smith said.

However, this hasn’t necessarily cut down on the paper used. The bank vice president said that a loan application once fit on  a piece of paper about the size of a postcard.

“Now they are pages long,” Smith said.

“We used to do business on a handshake or a person’s word,” Parker said. “In all John’s years at the bank, all he ever lost was $400. When he tried to get it back, the customer’s lawyer accused John of harassing him. That bothered him.”

Draper said that men would sometimes come in and tell John Parker that they were going to a cattle sale over the weekend and to cover them.  

“The bank did cover them, because John knew that the men would be in the bank Monday morning,” he said.

Sadly, the days when somebody could get a loan on a handshake are gone, but the Bank of Mindenmines retains a personal relationship with its customers.

“We know 95 percent of the people who step through that door,” Draper said.  “We take pride in knowing our customers and in handling their banking needs.”