5 Hoosier Banker January 2016 FEATURE President’s Ponderings S. Joe DeHaven, President & Chief Executive Officer, Indiana Bankers Association In last month’s column, I wrote about the Indiana bicentennial celebration. I confessed that I did not know whether it was an anniversary or a birthday, but that a year-long celebration was fitting. By happy coincidence, this month your Indiana Bankers Association begins another year-long celebration. On Jan. 29, 1916, the first edition of Hoosier Banker was published. This magazine has continued to be published each and every month for the past 100 years. While there are many state bankers associations that publish magazines, some of them monthly, few can lay claim to having published every single month for the past 100 years. To commence the celebration, this month we introduce you to “Hoosier Banker Heritage” on page 13, featuring magazine snippets from 1916 through 1919. Each subsequent month through November we will cover another decade, culminating our commemoration in December with a special collector’s edition of Hoosier Banker. This year-long celebration of our flagship publication coincides with the bicentennial celebration of the state of Indiana. Just as Indiana has created a bicentennial logo, the IBA also has created a commemorative logo for Hoosier Banker, shown at left, to accompany historical features regarding the magazine’s centennial celebration. Let me start by sharing with you that, at the time that Hoosier Banker was first published, the president of the IBA board of directors was Frank Pitner, cashier of First National Bank in La Porte. In response to requests by readers, the February 1916 issue ran an article about Mr. Pitner. As evidence that things truly do not change as much as we may think, in this January 2016 issue we are featuring an article about 2016 IBA Chairman Mike Head, president and CEO of First Federal Savings Bank in Evansville. Following is the material about Mr. Pitner. Note that the year of his birth coincides with the end of the Civil War: Dear Editor: In compliance with your many requests, I am giving you a few facts about myself; born June 26, 1865, in La Porte and am here yet. Graduated from the city schools June 15, 1884, went to work in the First National Bank the next morning and am here yet. When I went into the bank, the deposits were less than $100,000 and they have kept on growing ever since ‒ in spite of me; the affiliated banks of which I am now Cashier, having approximately $2,250,000. Probably the most important thing that ever happened to me was in 1897, when I married Miss Lyle Hynes in Los Angeles, Cal. I had been corresponding with her since I was seventeen years old and have never stopped ‒ this may serve to illustrate my characteristic of persistence. Like most busy bank cashiers, I have had to be more or less identified with a great many of the town’s interests and find relaxation in such social service as acting on the boards of our Church, the Y.M.C.A. and similar organizations. Also for many years I have been Chairman of La Porte County Board of Children’s Guardians. I believe that this is much more than anybody outside of my own immediate family will be interested in, except possibly some political candidate, who might be glad to know that I am a Republican. With kindest regards, believe me, Very cordially, Frank J. Pitner As a charming postscript, Mr. Pitner added: “The farthest I have ever been away from good old Indiana was in the fall of 1910, when Mrs. Pitner and I made a tour through Europe.” It seems appropriate that we start our year-long journey with the assurance that the IBA’s president 100 years ago was humble, witty and humorous. He also was deeply involved in his community. The more things change, the more they stay the same, it seems. Please enjoy this year’s twin celebrations and journeys through history. Happy New Year! 1916 - 2016 YEARS The first Hoosier Banker was published on Jan. 29, 1916. Frank Pitner, First National Bank in La Porte, served as president of the Indiana Bankers Association in 1916.
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