BANKS AND BANKERS (Cont'd)

Banks & Bankers 1904, Atlantic, Iowa
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1. L. O. REINIG, deceased, was born at Hoffenheim, dukedom of Baden, in 1841 and came to America in 1851, locating in New York city where he engaged in the dry goods business. He served in the war of the rebellion after the close of which he returned to New York city and again engaged in the dry goods business. In 1867 he came west to Cass county and entered a co-partnership with S. M. CHILDS in the dry goods business in that year. In 1879 he organized the Bank of Lewis and continued in the banking business until his death in 1887. As a business man and a citizen his motto during his life was ever " onward and upward." Progressive, honest as the day is long, a gentleman always, Cass county lost one of her most valued citizens when L. O. REINIG passed to the Great Beyond.

2. Hugh M. REINIG, Lewis in 1874. In 1894 he entered the employ of the Savings Bank of Iowa at Des Moines. In 1896 he entered the employ of the German Savings Bank at Des Moines and in 1897 came to Griswold and with J. H. ALEXANDER organized the Citizens' Bank of Griswold, where he is now engaged. Every one knows " Hugh " and he is deservedly popular wherever he is known. A thorough business man, ever looking to advancement in his business and as a citizen, Hugh M. REINIG is among the solid men of Cass county.

3. Lewis Walter NILES, cashier of the Atlantic National Bank, was born in Bureau county, Illinois, August 25, 1855, and lived there until he was six years old, when his parents moved to Neponset, Ill., and afterward to Kewanee. He was employed by the First National Bank of Kewanee in 1872. In 1874 he went to Chicago and was employed by the Central National Bank of that city for five years. He then went to Brookfield, MO., and engaged with his father in the general merchandise business. At the end of three years he went to Golden City, MO., and into the banking and general merchandise business, then back to Brookfield, where he remained three years. He then was called to Pender, Nebraska, where he was cashier of the Pender State Bank for two years and came to Atlantic in May of 1895 and accepted a position as assistant cashier of the Atlantic National Bank. April 15, 1900, he was appointed cashier, and has held that position ever since. He is recognized as one of the best bank cashiers in the country and has held the good opinion of the public while satisfying the various board of directors. He is a Mason and an Elk, is school treasurer and also treasurer of the Atlantic Water Company. He knowns when to say no and when to say yes, and his ability is written in the bank's surplus and in its standing as a financial institution.

4. A. G. ARRASMITH, cashier of the Bank of Griswold, of Griswold, Iowa, was born in Menlo, Iowa, in February, 1880, and lived there until August, 1897, attending school and acquiring the education which has been invaluable to him in his present position. In 1897 he went to Griswold and found employment with Mr. WILCOX in the Bank of which he is now cashier. Steadily he advanced, being made assistant cashier and one year ago was advanced to his present responsible post. He is but twenty-four years of age, but he ranks among the brightest and most reliable men in the banking business in this county. He is a member of the M. W. A. and is possessed of a pleasing personality. He is progressive and up-to-date in his citizenship.

5. Samuel HOFFMAN, JR., Atlantic, Iowa, financial representative of the German Savings Bank of Davenport, was born in Scott county, Iowa, and lived on a farm until he was seventeen years of age, when he went on the road as a salesman and in 1881 entered the employ of the German Savings Bank at Davenport. He stayed in the bank until 1894, when he came to Atlantic to take chage of the bank's business and has lived here ever since. He is an Elk and a Woodman, and finds his principal recreation in hunting and shooting. In the latter he has won distinction on many fields, and was one of the six who tied on 25 straight birds at the grand American handicap shoot at Elkwood Park, N. J., in 1899, where there were 278 contestants. He is an athlete and as jovial in temperament as he is strong in physique. In connection with his loan business he handles fire and life insurance. He believes in doing things and is in line with the greater Atlantic sentiment.

6. J. H. ALEXANDER, of the Citizens' Bank of Griswold, Griswold, Iowa, was born near Greenville, Tenn., on April 6, 1860. His father died in 1863 and in 1866 he removed with his mother to Atchison county, MO., where they lived until 1871, coming shortly after this to Cass county and locating on a farm east of Lewis. The subject of this sketch was educated in Cass county schools, and for about a year taught in the schools of this county. In July, 1880 he entered the Bank of Lewis in the employ of the late L. O. REINIG and remained with Mr. REINIG till his death in 1887. After his death Messrs. WILCOX and PIPHER became owners of the bank and were succeeded a year later by HARRIS, KENNEDY AND WOODWARD. Mr. ALEXANDER was retained as cashier of the bank through all changes and remained in that position until 1897, when, with Hugh M. REINIG, he organized the Citizens' Bank of Griswold, which he and Mr. REINIG are still conducting. Mr. ALEXANDER has been in the banking business for twenty-four years. He is married and has two children, a son twelve and a daughter ten years of age. He belongs to the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias. As a citizen and as a business man. Mr. ALEXANDER is always interested in the upbuilding of his town and county.

7. John C. VOORHEES, president of the Bank of Anita, Anita, Iowa, was born in New Jersey, May 18, 1865, and lived there until he was sixteen years of age. In his eleventh and twelfth years he served as a page in the New Jersey senate, but upon the advent of a republican administration, was " fired." His father was prominent in New Jersey politics and was a member of the Assembly. The subject of this sketch came to Anita in 1881 and went to work in the Rood hardware store at that place for five dollars a month and board and washing. He remained in the employ of Dr. ROOD for five years and in 1887, having mastered the every detail of the business, engaged in business for himself, handling hardware and implements. In the fall of 1898 he built his present large and commodious store room, 50 x 100 and three stories high, and added furniture and undertaking to his other lines. In 1894 he became interested in the Citizens' Bank of Anita and continued his connection therewith for four years. In 1903 he bought the Bank of Anita from C. M. MEYERS and is now the president of it. He is a member of the four Masonic bodies and is a K. P. and a Woodman. The touchstone that has enabled him in twenty-three years by his own unaided efforts to rise from a position of $ 5 a month to that of owner of the most complete hardware implement and furniture stock in the state, and president of the Bank of Anita, has been indefatigable industry and strictly honorable conduct in all his business relations with his fellows.

PLATE 1 <==== BANKS AND BANKERS ====> PLATE 3


From: Exposition Souvenir Album, published by Democrat Publishing Company, Atlantic, Iowa, 1904. Transcribed by Brenda Magee, November, 2011 and March, 2012.

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