Albert Fruechte Notes 60 years of
service to New Albin Savings Bank
A group of friends and co-workers of Albert
Fruechte held a party early this month to help him
celebrate a milestone -- the completion of 60 years
of service with the New Albin Savings Bank. Albert
joined the bank in 1926 as a bookkeeper. He is now
the bank's president. Fruechte has seen the bank's
footings grow from $564,000 to $18,659,000 on March
31, 1986. There are countless laws and regulations
that bankers must follow now that did not exist when
Fruechte came to work driving a 1926 Ford, a car
which cost him $609. But as you'd expect from a man
with 60 years of banking experience, he has adopted
a philosophy geared toward accepting changes in
banking. Chairman of the bank's board of directors is
Paul H. Meyer, who at 86 may be one of the state's
oldest bank board chairmen. Other members of the
bank's board are Edna Tabatt, Elsie Weymiller, Robert
Bulman, Arthur Fruechte, Ray Whalen and, naturally,
Albert.
~*~
Fruechte
Marks 65 Years in the Banking Business - 2 newspaper
articles
Albert Fruechte
by Jane Briggs Palen
Albert Fruechte arrived for his first day of work at
the New Albin Savings Bank on April 5, 1926, in a
horse and buggy. His dad had given him a ride
because, although the family had a car, cars
weren’t used much except in pleasant weather.
When it was muddy outside, only a horse and buggy
were dependable. When Albert started, he figured he'd
give it a year and if he didn't like it, he'd move
on. He liked it. Working at the bank the past 65
years has been a "real pleasure," according
to Albert. He began his career at the age of 20,
after attending "farm school" for a year
and, then business school in Freeport, Illinois. When
a bookkeeper at the bank died, Albert's father, who
was on the board of directors, recommended Albert for
the job, and he's been there ever since.
In the early days, recalled Albert, when he was a
bookkeeper, all the day's transactions were recorded
by hand on ledger sheets— even the customer's
activity in his checking account. The changes in that
area have been tremendous, and luckily, wages have
gone up, too. Albert started work at $85 per month,
out of which came room and board.
There were only three employees at the bank when
Albert started, and all had to learn the various
jobs. "l did bookkeeping and teller work, but it
was a long time before I did anything in
management," Albert recalled. Today, the bank
has seven full-time and three part-time employees.
The New Albin Savings Bank has a history of
longevity. Another former employee, Earl Welsh,
worked full-time at the bank for 63 years, and died a
year to the day after he retired. Albert worked
full-time until the age of 80, and now is considered
part-time. After what happened to Earl, Albert is
leery of retiring altogether.
Albert considers himself fortunate to have been able
to work in the bank all these years. He’s
enjoyed it so much for so long all because of the
customers. "I like the fact that I'm meeting
people and taking care of their problems," he
said.
A small town bank has the advantage of being able to
give personal service to its customers, said Albert.
"You get to know people pretty well," he
said. And because it is smaller, the bank is more
conservative when it comes to loaning out money. It's
cautiousness has been to its credit. The New Albin
Savings Bank recently received a five-star rating
from the Bauer Financial Report, which is given only
to the safest, most credit-worthy and secure banks in
the country.
The bank, which was established in 1898, has had its
share of bad times. The worst were in the 1930s, when
there was no money to be had. "It was
terrible," said Albert. In the farm-crisis years
of the 1980s, things were bad, too, but the bank
didn't have to foreclose on any farms and he is glad
of that fact.
The amount of money that the bank deals in has grown
tremendously over the years, said Albert. "The
day we went over a million in deposits, I thought we
had it made," he recalled. Today, deposits total
nearly $27 million.
In a small community like New Albin, the bank is more
than just a place to make financial transactions.
It's a community supporter. Each year, the bank puts
on a beef and pork roast attended by more than
800people. They collect utility bills, and own a
"town house" where community events can be
held—including wakes. Whenever there's a
fund-raising project in the community, the bank helps
out.
Albert is very proud of the fact that his son, Barry,
also decided to enter the banking business and now
works at the New Albin Savings Bank. "We
certainly feel that the banking industry has been a
blessing for us," said Albert.
When he's not working, Albert and his wife Norma
enjoy taking bus tours throughout the United States.
When they're home, she takes care of their
grandchildren during the day and Albert comes into
work. He considered part-time, and says with a laugh
that the pay's not much better than when he started.
But, he doesn’t like sitting home, preferring to
go into work to greet customers, keep an eye on
things and generally spread good will. To the
children who come into the bank, he's the "candy
man" because of the stash of candy he keeps in
his desk drawer just for them. Little do they realize
that this same man probably handed out candy to their
grandparents when they were little children paying a
visit to the New Albin Savings Bank.
~The Argus, Caledonia, MN, April 17, 1991
~Contributed by Errin Wilker
~*~
(another newspaper article)
When Albert Fruechte started working at New Albin
Savings Bank, he figured he'd give it a year and if
he didn't like it, he'd move on. He liked it. Working
at the bank the past 65 years has been a "real
pleasure," according to Albert.
He began his career at the age of 20,
after attending "farm school" for a year
and then business school in Freeport, Illinois. When
a bookkeeper at the bank died, Albert's father, who
was on the board of directors, recommended Albert for
the job, and he's been there ever since.
In the early days, recalled Albert,
when he was a bookkeeper, all the day's transactions
were recorded by hand on ledger sheets -- even the
customer's activity in his checking account. The
changes in that area have been tremendous, and
luckily, wages have gone up, too. Albert started work
at $85 per month, out of which came room and board.
There were only three employees at
the bank when Albert started, and all had to learn
the various jobs. "I did bookkeeping and teller
work, but it was a long time before I did anything in
management," Albert recalled.
Today, the bank has seven fulltime
and three part-time employees.
The New Albin Savings Bank has a
history of longevity. Another former employee, Earl
Welsh, worked full-time at the bank for 63 years, and
died a year to the day after he retired. Albert
worked full-time until the age of 80, and now is
considered parttime. After what happened to Earl,
Albert is leery of retiring altogether.
Albert considers himself fortunate to
have been able to work in the bank all these years.
He's enjoyed it so much for so long all because of
the customers. "I like the fact that I'm meeting
people and taking care of their problems," he
said. A small town bank has the advantage of being
able to give personal service to its customers, said
Albert. "You get to know people pretty
well," he said. And because it is smaller, the
bank is more conservative when it comes to loaning
out money. It's cautiousness has been to its credit.
The New Albin Savings Bank recently
received a five-star rating from the Bauer Financial
Report, which is given only to the safest, most
credit-worthy and secure banks in the country.
The bank, which was established in
1898, has had its share of bad times. The worst were
in the 1930s, when there was no money to be had.
"It was terrible," said Albert. In the
farm-crisis years of the 1980s, things were bad, too,
but the bank didn't have to foreclose on any farms
and he is glad of that fact. The amount of money that
the banks deals in has grown tremendously over the
years, said Albert. "The day we went over a
million in deposits, I thought we had it made,"
he recalled. Today, deposits total nearly $27
million.
In a small community like New Albin,
the bank is more than just a place to make financial
transactions. It's a community supporter. Each year,
the bank puts on a beef and pork roast attended by
more than 800 people. They collect utility bills, and
own a "town house" where community events
can be held, including wakes. Whenever there's a
fundraising project in the community, the bank
helps out.
Albert is very proud of the fact that
his son, Barry, also decided to enter the banking
business and now works at the New Albin Bank.
"We certainly feel that the banking industry has
been a blessing for us, " said Albert. When he's
not working, Albert and his wife Norma enjoy taking
bus tours throughout the United States. When they're
home, she takes care of their grandchildren during
the day and Albert comes into work. He's considered
parttime, and says with a laugh that the pay's not
much better than when he started. But, he doesn't
like sitting home, preferring to go into work to
greet customers, keep an eye on things and generally
spread good will. To the children who come into the
bank, he's the "candy man" because of the
stash of candy he keeps in his desk drawer just for
them. Little do they realize that this same man
probably handed out candy to their grandparents when
they were little children paying a visit to the New
Albin Savings Bank.
~Allamakee Journal, April
16, 1986 and Allamakee Journal, 1991
~Contributed by Errin Wilker
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