Jefferson County Online A part of the IAGenWeb and USGenWeb Projects Who's Who in 1921 & 1922 William Henry Bangs

"The Fairfield Tribune"
Thursday, October 13, 1921
Page SIX

NO. 32 (sic - should be 33)

WILLIAM HENRY BANGS

Adhering strictly to its policy of absolute impartiality and non-recognition of caste or class, this column makes no protest against the admission of bankers to it, feeling sure that bankers, as a class, are not the soulless folk that the public seems to believe they are; probably half the lies told of bankers aren't true anyway. With these few words of prologue we are pleased to introduce to your kindly consideration one William Henry Bangs, bank cashier.

It was several years ago that William Henry reached the conclusion that Fairfield stood very much in need of another first class banker. There were some tolerably good ones here but he felt that there was room for another. He was living down at New London at that time. Now, it was pretty hard for William Henry to leave the old town--he had become a sort of a fixture there during his long residence. However, although he loved the place, he decided to leave even though he left it flat on his back. When he left they held a big farewell party for him and the band escorted him to the train. William Henry says he has never yet fully decided whether all this attention was due to regret or joy.

William Henry Bangs wasn't always a banker. He used to be an honest farmer. Might have continued at that except that he was making the donation of a good wad every year in interest on a loan at the bank. This set him thinking.

"There's those guys there in the bank working short hours, wearing good clothes, and going to the movies two or three times a week," William Henry soliloquized. "Here am I working my head off to make enough money to give to those fellows. They don't work for my money, nor sell me anything, they just take my money. Looks like a good game to me."

Well, these reflections bore fruit and 'twasn't long before William Henry broke into the bank. He was surprised to find that work at the bank didn't cease when the doors closed. There was a lot of other things he found out about the banking business too. William Henry began to yearn for the daylight to dark hours of the farm, for the hogs and cattle and the cream and the chicken for dinner every day. The lure was too strong so he trekked back to the farm.

But William Henry had got accustomed to wearing white collars and boiled shirts while in the bank. Got so he rather liked the feel of the things. So again he tackled the bank job.

"This time," says William Henry, "I'll stick even if the horses and cows and hogs from the farm come to the bank windows and look through at me with tears in their eyes."

Being a sticker, William Henry stuck.

But because he has left New London it must not be believed that he has forgotten the old town. William Henry does not let it be forgotten either in his memory or in that of any of his associates. Thinks so much of the place that he signs his name, "William Henry Bangs, formerly of New London" and has the same thing printed on his letterheads.

Since coming to Fairfield Mr. Bangs has made his mark as a golfer. Other members of the golf club will tell you that he has made his mark all over the turf, though why he should use his golf club rather than a spade to dig into the turf they fail to understand.

William Henry Bangs wasn't long in Fairfield unttil he broke into the Rotarians. He's a very important member of the club, especially valuable in the singing. Some of the club members declare that he is fully qualified for membership in the Old Settler quartet and regret that that organization is already filled and bulging at the top.

James Barrie has a character in one of his novels say that "a man can nae mak a joke and see it, that would be doin' the work of twa men." Well, Wiilam Henry Bangs can do the work of two men in this respect alright, for he can surely make jokes and see them. He's found that a long face isn't necessary adjunct to banking dignity and he brightens up the days work with a bit of joke and a smile. He has an especially attractive smile for the fellow who makes big deposits and doesn't write checks against them.

But there is one time when William Henry can neither joke nor smile. It's when he is denying a loan to an applicant. When he can do so he usually shifts this disagreeable task to Bill Starr. It pains William Henry exceedingly not to loan money. The sketch accompanying this article was made from life just at a time when William Henry was kindly but firmly declining to make a loan to a needy farmer who aticipated (sic) an abundant sweet potato crop next year. Note the look of pain on William Henry's face--it is repulsive to his whole nature to refuse a loan. You will note also the halo about his head, and the wings sprouting from the shoulders. This really does not appear in life and was just merely the artists fancy. When questioned, his wife declared that she knew nothing mean she could say about him. And when a man's wife says that about her husband she surely sees him with wings and a halo.

But William Henry Bangs is something more than a banker here in Fairfield. Though his heart is still in New London he thinks Fairfield is the next best place on earth and you'll find him up and coming and on his toes working for the town. Gets into most everything that is good for the town and is a son of the original town booster. Says he hopes some day to make Fairfield as good a town as New London. Of course, the most of us here fail to perceive the wings and halo which his wife's opinion gives him--we can hardly go that far, you know--but we don't know of anything especially bad to say against him ourselves. And the fact of the matter is that William Henry Bangs is a pretty good kind of a chap, a four-square sort, whether he has wings and a halo or not.