THE NEW JOB... & other things (Part 100a)

The word of the day for Labor Day was apprehension. Mine was due to not really knowing what was expected of me at my new job which was to start the next day. I’d been told I was to be responsible for bringing new technology to the bank. However, I’d been thinking about it and my data processing experience had been as a machine operator and I really wasn’t sure just what they expected me to do. I did know I was to be sent to school to learn about the new equipment they were buying. For Elle, it was the fact that our youngest, Jean, was going to start school on Wednesday. The fear was that she’d not had a lot of exposure to groups of other children and didn't really have good social skills. Sunday school was where she’d been exposed to up to maybe six of seven kids at the most. But I was the first one to face the challenge.

It was about a half hour drive. I was fortunate in that most of the traffic was headed the other direction. Arriving in town I drove to the bank and parked across the street just to take in the sight. I’d driven through the town many times and I honestly didn’t remember ever even noticing the building. Actually, that was pretty hard to do as it was a stately edifice with two massive columns in front and two large brass doors. I decided that it was because I’d had no need for a bank in the past. It was located on the corner of the main street and the only north bound street so it was prominently placed. I drove around to the back and saw some people entering though a back door. I was to meet JR’s father, John the president, at 9am so decided I’d go to the front door to enter. I walked in and, to be honest, was shocked.

Not that I’d been inside many banks in my life but I’d never been in one quite like this one before. To the left there were four large and very old desks with strange green shaded lamps on each one. On the right were four of what could best be described as “cages”. There was a counter that ran from just inside the front door to the back where it met a low partition. On top of the counter were metal grilles. This is where people deposited their money. To me it just looked weird. Standing in between the two areas I looked up and the ceiling which was very high. It reminded me of some of the museums that my mother had taken me to when I was young with all kinds of ornamentation. The windows went from floor to ceiling and the drapes were dark and further added to the “museum look”. It was about then when I began wondering what I’d agreed to.

John saw me standing in the middle of the floor and came over and then proceeded to introduce me to all the officers of the bank. Monte was the Chairman of the Board and about 70 years old. Artie was the vice president and treasurer and appeared to be in his 40’s. Mona was introduced as the secretary and she made it perfectly clear that she wasn’t a secretary... she was an officer of the bank.  To say the least she made her position clear. Over on the other side I was introduced to the four women who were the tellers who took in the deposits and paid out the withdrawals. Actually, there were three tellers and Inez. Inez looked like she was 90 and had the title of head teller. The rest of them were all middle aged. Rich was introduced as a “jack of all trades” doing a myriad of things, as needed. Of people I’d met he was, by far, the youngest and he looked to be in his mid 30’s.

The introductions weren't over yet. The three women who worked in the mortgage department actually worked upstairs in the room that served as the Board room. The youngest of the three was easily in her 50’s. By then I was really wondering just what I’d walked into. But there was more. John told me that it had been decided to have me work with the auditor. The auditor, although an officer of the bank, actually reported to the Board of Trustees. His job was to make sure all the numbers added up and had the power to go into any department at any time to see just what was being done. Since I had no banking experience the idea was that by working with him I’d get the feel of the whole banking experience. What I really wasn’t prepared for was that he was, to use the term in vogue at the time, a “fairy”.

I’d never seen a more effeminate male in my life than Alvin. He literally “swished” as he walked. On top of the “old” look of the bank itself, the “old” look of the staff and now Alvin. He was around 50 years old and was impeccably dressed. I had serious doubts but I was already there and didn't have much of a choice. I don’t remember when it came to me that this was the second time that I’d been “sold” on a job without doing any investigating before accepting it. I’d been sold on the concept (and more money) when I left AJ back when I was training horses to go to work for Dan. I’d not seen his farm and it wasn’t anything like what he’d told me. This was deja vu only in a banking context. I was mad at myself for not taking the time to at least make a visit.

I spent the rest of the morning looking over some reports that Alvin had prepared for the Board. After lunch I found out something else about Alvin... he was an alcoholic. There was no doubt in my mind that he knew his field, accounting. However, the further the day went the more it became obvious the he was imbibing. The more it showed the more he talked... about everything and everybody. He had “something” on just about everybody in the place but he started in on Inez, the so called head teller.

I hadn’t been far off when I figured her to be around 90. She’d just celebrated her 89th birthday. She’d worked at the bank since she was 18 years old. I did the calculation and she’d been there for 74 years. Alvin said they couldn’t trust her with money but, because she’d been there so long and knew just about everybody in town, they let her stay on. The one thing that caught my attention was that she could trace her lineage back to the first settlers as could I. I hoped that information might be of some help to me in the future because I was sure that I’d need it.

To be continued...