State Bank of Geneva celebrates 115th year

In glancing over the history of the State Bank of Geneva, I decided it would be interesting to reveal something I never knew about it. So I took a shot at a relatively out-of-left-field question.

"Did someone like a John Dillinger ever rob the bank in the old days?" I asked bank CEO and President Christopher Barton.

Nope, thankfully nothing like that happened at this community bank. It means nothing can tarnish the pride and excitement Barton and his staff feels about the bank currently celebrating its 115th year of service.

That pride stems from the fact that, in a financial services industry that more often than not has mergers, acquisitions, openings and closings, State Bank of Geneva has kept the same name and operated as a community-based financial institution since a group of local businessmen put it together in 1903.

The Nelson family has deep roots in the bank, starting when Oscar Nelson became president in 1925, following after Charles Field, George Peck and Frank Peck had that role.

Arthur Nelson became president in 1975 and his son, Gregg, took on that role in 1985. There were plenty of other leaders during that span, not the least of which was a 50-year stint by Frank Cannon.

Cannon and the Nelsons were instrumental in thwarting a sale of the bank to Unibank of Chicago in the early 1980s by buying up the shares of some other stockholders and keeping the bank a local entity - and, as it has turned out, a historic institution.

Not to mention, it is a bank that clearly knows its mission and has stayed that course.

"There is a segment of the market, primarily small businesses, that wants to deal with decision-makers and have people look at their banking needs from an individualized perspective," said Barton, who has been president for three years after Gregg Nelson retired in 2012 and Lewis Deal stepped down in 2015.

"These businesses don't want to deal with blanket statements and blanket rules at a bank," Barton added.

The State Bank of Geneva embraces the small-town flavor it represents.

"We have had a lot of people who work for us and have been here many years," Barton said. "That is good, because our tellers have the most customer contact of anybody.

"It is unusual to have a bank be 115 years old and to stay with the same name and have its roots in the same community," Barton said.

The bank had a celebration last month, but will continue to acknowledge the 115 years through June of next year.

"We'll just bring it to people's attention with our signs and on our marketing materials," Barton said.

It should make for a matter of much pride for those associated with State Bank of Geneva.

But I still think it would have been kind of interesting to say John Dillinger, or someone of his ilk, tried to rob the place, and that it was thwarted because the bank had the best safe in Illinois in the Midwest. Or something like that.

At the farm:

Anyone with an interest in how settlers in this area lived more than 150 years ago would surely find Harvest Days at the Garfield Farm Museum to be a worth a visit.

The walk back in history takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7, at Garfield Farm, on Garfield Road in Campton Hills.

It's the 37th time that Executive Director Jerome Johnson welcomes visitors to the site for this event that showcases various 1840s household and farm tasks. This year also features a preview of the restoration work taking place on the 1906 diary barn and 1913 silo.

My favorite spot is visiting the inn at the farm and envisioning men playing cards in the lobby, or spotting a stagecoach making its stop to drop off more overnight travelers.

Johnson makes a good point in explaining why it would be fun for a family to visit during Harvest Days, other than it is only $6 or $3 for children ages 12 or younger.

"Classic American images are otherworldly and alien to the younger generations," he wrote.

He reasons most baby boomers still had some connection to farming through a relative or friend as they grew up, but today's younger generations are likely removed from an understanding of how farms produce our food.

Regardless of the reason for possibly visiting Garfield Farm, I will simply add this: It is just a wonderful gift to this area that people would still have the time, energy and passion to make sure we can go back to the 1840s in this manner.

That happy place:

It's apparent many volunteers pitch in and bake goods for the Geneva United Methodist Church's free monthly Third Tuesday Community Suppers. And it's also possible that some of the treats offered at these suppers are donated or store bought.

Either way, it's easy for me to declare the dessert table at these suppers as a top-ranked "happy place."

I attack the dessert table with a vengeance, which usually means I eat more than one or two cookies or brownies and take about the same number home.

Most importantly, the church next month will celebrate its ninth anniversary of providing the meals. It's a concept that has caught on with other area churches, and one that was originally designed to help out folks during the recession.

But it's morphed into a gathering place for all ages and has been particularly helpful to me because I connect with my neighbors and it provides a nice meal on a night my wife is often working.

A coffee surprise:

Reader Valerie-Ann Oberholz and her husband wanted to spread a good word here about their recent experience at Starbucks in Geneva.

She didn't indicate which Starbucks, but that's not an essential point in this story.

While waiting in line for their coffee on a Sunday morning, they began talking to a Geneva High School student. "After getting his coffee, to our surprise, he gave money to the cashier to buy our coffee," Oberholz said.

"After hearing our thanks, he commented that his mother has taught him to 'pay it forward,'" she added.

She never got the student's name, but later learned he was originally from out of the country.

"What a nice young man," she said. "His parents should be proud."

dheun@sbcglobal.net