Jobs, bankers, trust and service

Some jobs are better than others. Some days are better than others.

One of the better things about my present job is that it is no longer my responsibility to take a spud bar, lower myself to the base of an industrial-size, factory trash compactor, then take said spud bar and remove all manner of debris from the blocked opening, all the while hoping a good-natured co-worker doesn't happen along and push one of the buttons which recesses the 4x4 base "floor" in the compactor pit. (The floor could be raised, lowered and then recessed to allow the garbage to be pushed into the Dumpster. If said good-natured co-worker pushed a button, anyone in the pit would see the floor – literally – slide out from under him.)

Granted, I still take out the trash each week, as I have for the past decade or more. But unless you've been lowered into a factory garbage pit at $5 an hour, you really do not have the same comprehension of refuse collection.

Funny thing, though. At that particular time in my life, I was happy to have the job and I knew I'd be writing about its many adventures at some point in my life.

Fast-forward 33 years, and a day at the office brought a few other memories.

A few years after progressing from an entry-level position we used to call "material handler" – and, yes, we handled all sorts of "material!" – to that of journeyman press operator, I found myself in need of a home loan.

Somewhere around 1980, I had opened a checking account at Farmers and Traders National Bank in Hillsboro. Today, it is better known as US Bank.

A few years later – by saving my well-earned spud bar paychecks – I was able to make a cash payment for a few acres of land. With that property deed as collateral, my wife and I decided to stop renting and buy a home.

On an ensuing payday, I asked Sheila Fawley (I think it was Sheila) if I could speak with bank President Bill Siddons. I was instructed to wait for a moment outside his office.

It was no more than a moment.

As I recall, Mr. Siddons asked me two questions:

• How much money do you need? and,

• When do you want the check?

I was stunned.

We were borrowing around $45,000 on a 20-year loan. It might as well have been $45 million.

Bill told us that he'd looked at our banking history and our credit history and he said he knew we'd make our payments. We did. In less than 12 years, that loan – and the interest – was repaid.

That was in 1987.

Nine years later, Bill retired as bank president. His retirement, much like others' respective retirements before him, left somewhat of a void in the local banking community.

Bill and I talked about this for a few moments today at the Hillsboro municipal building on North High Street.

A former U.S. Army staff sergeant and Korean War veteran, Bill received his 60-year membership certificate Monday for his six decades of continuous membership in Hillsboro American Legion Post 129.

Hillsboro Mayor Drew Hastings made the well-deserved presentation, with Veterans Services Director Robin Brown and Veterans Service Commission board member Joe Thompson in attendance.

Bill served in the 14th Infantry for 21 months from 1951-53 during the Korean War.

His infantry regiment served in the key battleground area north of the 38th parallel in the region known as the Iron Triangle. The area was the scene of heavy fighting and included the Battle of White Horse, the Battle of Triangle Hill and the Battle of Pork Chop Hill. To the eastern battle area was Heartbreak Ridge, where Bill also served.

After the war, Bill continued to serve, not only as a 60-year member of American Legion Post 129, but also as a community leader and local bank executive who wasn't afraid to take a chance on an honest, hard-working customer from time to time.

While I cannot claim to be hard-working, I still appreciate that Bill signed off on our first home mortgage more than a quarter of a century ago. It may have been just another day at the office for Bill, but it sure meant a lot more to us. It always will.

Thanks, Bill, for your trust and your friendship.

And thank you for your military service. Congratulations on 60 years in the American Legion.

Rory Ryan is publisher of The Highland County Press.