Citizens

On March 20, 2009, TeamBank was closed and all deposit accounts were transferred to Great Southern Bank of Springfield. It's a special irony to me, that it is exactly 50 years since the original Citizen's State Bank first opened its doors.

I was a young boy when the new bank held its grand opening at the old location across the street in the building now used by US Bank. Much has changed in these years.

The original bank was built on the northwest corner of the land that once was the location for the old Nevada High School. When the school burned in November of 1957, it was decided to build a new school at the present location on West Hickory Street.

Many of the bricks from the old high school were salvaged by the J.L. Pohl Construction Company. Literally thousands of these were reused in several homes around the local area.

Traveling west on Highway 54, you can see one of these houses. Just west of the junction of Highways 54 and 43 is the home of the recently deceased Regar Todd Sr. His home was built with bricks from the old high school.

Once the high school had relocated, and all remnants of the old school were removed, the land became available for new use. You have to remember that in the late 50s Austin Boulevard had not been built from Subway Boulevard west to Washington Street.

The land on Cherry Street that was the original front side of the old school location was ready for some new business, and a new bank was just what it received.

I got to know first hand quite a bit about this bank even as a young kid. My grandfather, Ben Hart, was a former longtime banker in Vernon County. He had also served two terms as the presiding judge for Vernon County. They now are called commissioners.

My grandfather had decided to retire at age 69, and enjoy his favorite hobby of fishing. That was not to remain that way for long. When a new group of investors decided to open a new bank in Nevada, they contacted him with an offer. He came out of retirement to become the first vice president of the new Citizen's State Bank of Nevada.

I can still remember some things from those original days. The grand opening featured a visit by the governor of Missouri, James T. Blair. I can still see in my mind when he cut the ribbon to the new bank.

When I was researching this history, I noted an unusual event. Governor Blair and his wife Emilie, both died tragically just three years later from carbon monoxide poisoning in their home.

After the bank opened, I used to visit there often in the afternoon. I remember many of the early officers there such as Bill Burroughs and Chester Miller. The highlight of some of my afternoons was when they put all the money away in the vault at the end of the day. On a few occasions, they would let me spin the wheel lock shut on the inner vault. I really thought that was neat.

Over the years, the bank had some ups and downs, but it remained a vibrant and popular local bank. Had it remained just a local bank, this article might never have been written. That was not the case, however.

As with many small town banks, it has become increasingly difficult to operate as a single entity. I am not sure of all the different chains that included the old Citizen's State as a member, but there have been more than one.

At one time a bank out of Warrensburg I believe was the owner. Then there was a time when it was Mercantile Bank. For the past few years TeamBank has become a very familiar institution in our community.

Like many of you, I have heard dozens of rumors about what happened to the TeamBank chain. I don't know if it is true or not, but one rumor is that this local branch was in and of itself in pretty fair shape. I know that when I visit the bank it is always busy, and that has to be a good sign.

Now the old Citizens State is a part of Great Southern Bank. What that will mean to our community is in the tea leaves of the future. The banking business is on thin ice all over the world right now, so there are no guarantees.

In Tuesday's Nevada Daily Mail, the new owners tried to reassure all customers that business will carry on as usual. The same polite and friendly people working there will remain to take care of your business according to the report.

We hope that is to be the case. This bank, like a couple of the other local banks in our community, has a history with our town. For the past several decades, the trend has been for large banks to gobble up small local banks. That trend has often left people in towns like Nevada a little less comfortable.

It is always nice when you go into a bank, and the people working there aren't just friendly because it is their job, they are friendly because they know you personally. Banking is always a lot easier when you have a personal relationship with the local bank officers.

I am sure that the owners from Great Southern are capable and want to operate a good bank here. My one piece of advice is to not loose the local flavor of this bank. That would give the current customers a lot of tension and stress.

This bank has been a great part of our history. Hopefully Great Southern will find that we offer a little "southern hospitality" of our own, when we are treated in a similar manner as the old Citizen's State used to offer.