The American Bank & Trust Co., Suffolk, Virginia

The American Bank & Trust Co., Suffolk, Virginia

I am guessing this photo by Hamlin's Studio was taken just after the building was built. As you all my age will notice, there is no clock on the corner of the building. Apparently, it was "lost" ("let the reader understand" as it says in the Book of Revelation). The four-sided clock was located on the southwest corner above the mezzanine level.  It was affixed to the building and was known as the "city clock.'' The clock was taken down by G. P. Jackson when the building closed in 1993 (Suffok-Nansemond Historical Society, Newsletter (Volume 7, Issue 1, April 1998), 3). It was taken down one other times many years before (I do not remember the reason) and it was stored in the barn behind my grandfather's house for years before being put back up. I hear they have replaced it with a smaller and not too elaborate a version. The Bank began in 1912, and this building was built between 1916 and 1919. For a pretty good history, click the link above for the Historic Register Nomination sheet. My grandfather, George Franklin Whitley, Jr., began as a runner in the Bank and at his death was Vice-President. I was told by him that The Bank was the only Bank in Virginia not to close during at the stock market crash of 1929. He lent money out to everybody in town just by their "good name," and apparently it worked. At least that's the story I was told. On August 29, 1956, an article appeared in the Suffolk News Herald:

 

"George Whitley Marks 40th Year As a Banker-- 




Joined American Bank in 1916." [On that
date "Grumps," as his grandchildren called him, was Vice President of the Bank
and a Director of the American Bank and Trust Company since early spring.] "I
quit school when I was fourteen, when my mother passed away. I had, from the
age of five and a half years until I was twelve years old, been tutored by a
Mrs. Judkins of Surry. My birthplace was just within sight of Surry
[Courthouse]. My father sent me to the Smithfield Institute, that lasted just
one session." When he was asked what his least favorite subject was he
answered Latin and Algebra, and with a twinkle in his eye said, "I had a Latin
Book just one day, I gave it back to my teacher, some folks may remember him,
it was John Bohannan. I once told him when I was struggling with Algebra I
didn't see any need to persecute boys with such stuff." But his favorite
subjects were history and geography. Grumps said in the interview that since
the time he had left home he had had only five jobs. Three of those were in
Wakefield where he was raised and where his mother died. The fourth was the
railroad in Suffolk. He said that people probably wondered why a man in his
job could be seen almost daily standing by the railroad. "Well, there is no
sweeter music to my ears than that made by a giant mallett (engine) pulling a
heavy train and I go down to the N. and W. tracks nearly every morning before
going to the bank to watch The Arrow go west or one of the many heavy
freight's that pass through Suffolk early in the morning. Their music to me is
sweeter than any orchestra. Grumps went to work with the railroad in 1907 and
spent nearly ten years with it. I have done everything from the janitor's job
to the resident's since Ernest Jones employed me on August 29, 1916. I had
just quit my job with the Norfolk and Western Railway and was broke. I heard
that a new bank had been organized and went there to get a job. Ernest Jones
asked me if I had any knowledge of banking and I said no. Ernest hired me and
I've been here ever since. The original building was across the street from
this building. The Frank Jones furniture store was located on this site and
next to it was Belden Bell's Bar. There were seven bars in a row in those
days, from Bell's down East Washington Street.I moved the first piece of
furniture from the old banking office to the new. I noticed that the entrance
to the new vault was going to be too narrow for the safe when the men
installed the vault door. I told Ernest Jones, he said, "I don't think it will
be too narrow." Anyhow he measured the vault. He found I was right. He was
about to call a safe mover from Norfolk when I told him I could do the job if
he would get me four 2x12s and two men to help. Ernest said , "I don't think
you can move the safe." I said I was a railroader for ten years and I know I
can. Well, he finally gave in and I moved the safe in a little over two hours.
When asked by the interviewer if he hadn't had some funny experiences in 40
years with the bank, George replied, "No, the only experiences I have had were
work and more work." He was not only the oldest employee in length of service,
but oldest in years at 67. Of the 20 directors of the bank when he started
only Kelly Kendrick was still living."