LUMBEE BANK celebrates
By DAVID MALCOLM
The official 10th anniversary of Lumbee
Bank will be celebrated December 21, but
the dream that led to the establishment of
the first Indian owned bank in the United
States is much older.
A group at area men met as early as 1963
to discuss the possibility of establishing a
local bank. Carmel Locklear was appointed
by the group to contact Frank Harrehon,
then State Commissioner of Banks, to find
out what the procedures were in establish
ing such an institution.
After receiving Locklear's report, the
group decided that a bank was not feasible
at that time. The possibility of a credit
union was also tossed around, but it was
felt that such an agency was not what the
community needed.
Temporarily halted in their efforts, the
men. among them Herman Dial, Dr.
I#
Vernon Kay Thompson, C arm el Locklear,
King David Locklear, Dr. M.L. Brooks,
Curtis Moore and William K. Locklear. 1
were forced to let the idea of an "Indian
bank" He dormant for several years.
But the seed had been planted and it
would not die.
Dr. Brooks and Tommie Dial got
together in 1970 and again brought up the
idea at establishing what would later be
known as Lumbee Bank, and the two soon
enlisted the support at Howard and Paul
Brooks. Dial's association with Charles
Rose III, at the time a practicing
Fayetteville attorney, proved to be an
invaluable aid in the drive toward opening
a minority bank in Pembroke.
Rose met with the group several times
that year, bringing with him on occasions
William White, then associated with Cape
Fear Bank at Fayetteville, who went over
the financial procedures that would have to
be followed if the proposed bank were to
become a reality.
Stanford Jones, Herbert Moore, John
Robert Jones and Adotph Dial soon joined
the Brooks, and the group agreed to
submit an application to the North Carolina
State Banking Commission for permission
to build a bank.
Ml
Retaining Rose as its legal representa
tive, the grobp completed the application
and h was represented to the Banking
Commission, which set a hearing for May
19, 1971.
/
One of the major requirements for
approval of the application was the
selection of a primary officer acceptable to
the Commission. The bank organizers
employed Robert Carpenter of Asheville,
pending state and FD1C approval.
A group of some 20 local people
appeared before the State Banking Com
mission on the 19th with Rose making the
official-presentation requesting a state
charter. After certification had been
granted. Carpenter declined the position of
primary officer and the bank's organizers
' li
set about looking for a replacement. Ray
Lttes was selected and he immediately
began the process of putting together s
staff.
The bank's organisers, who initially had
? their headquarters in a log cabin on Third
Street purchased a modified mobile home
unit to house the bank. The next step:
selling required stock worth $670,990. That
proved to be no small task, but soon it too
was accomplished with 97 percent of the
750 subscribers Indian.
The final step was FD1C approval. This
was finally granted on December 21, 1971,
and the following morning area residents
gathered for a brief dedication and ribbon
cutting ceremony. With a snip of his
scissors. Mayor Early Maynor officially
signaled the opening of Lumbee Bank. Earl
Hughes Oxendine had the distinction of
being the bank's first depositor.
Liles summed up the feelings of many of
those present by paraphrasing Churchill:
"Never did so many owe so much to so
few."
The beak grew quickly. Aaaeto w|ich ?
totaled $670,000 oa opening day amounted I
to Sl,971,000just five months later, and I
the initial growth spurt has not ceased. I
Lumbee Bank's assets now average around I
10 million dollars, according to James A. I
Hunt, bank president.
Hunt came to Lumbee Bank as president I
on Aug. 1, 1977 after three years as I
Operations Officer at First Union National |
Bank's Regional Service Center in Lum
berton, and puts the establishment of
branch offices at the top of his list of goals
for the bank. "I've been working on that
for a year and a half," said Hunt. "The
status of the economy is the key."
Adding space for bookkeeping in 1978,
the bank built on two additional offices and
a conference room in '79, effectively
doubling the size of the original building
which Lumbee Bank moved into in March
of 1973.
"Competition among banks is a lot
fiercer today than it was 10 years ago,"
said Curtis Pierce, who began as the
bank's cashier and became vice president/
cashier in 1975. "We've tried to stay
abreast of the ever changing trends in
banking and give our customers the
services they want and need, and we like to
think we've done a good job.
"The biggest change I've seen in
banking during my tenure here is the way
people have become much more conscious
of their money. They are examining
deposit structures, always looking for a
good return on their investment."
The bank presently handles some 4,000
accounts. "That includes deposits, loans
and other ventures," said PieTce.
In observance of its 10th anniversary,
Lumbee Bank will give free Susan B.
Anthony dollars to the first 100 people who
walk into the bank on Monday, and then at
noon, will sponsor a drawing with a $100
savings bond as first prize. Two second
place winners will receive a $50 savings
bond with wooden barrel banks going to 10
third place winners.
"Of course we hope it will attract some
new accounts, but mainly it's for our old
customers," Pierce noted. People can
I register for the drawing during normal
banking hours.
I
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Von Locklear
guest speaker of
Pembroke Kiwanis Club
Program Chairman Adolph
I Dial presented Mr. Von S.
I Locklear of the Lumbee Re
I gional Development Associ
I ation as the speaker at the
I Tuesday evening meeting of
I the Pembroke Kiwanis Gub
I at the Town and Country
I Restaurant. Mr. Locklear is a
I former student of Professor
I Dial and received his Bachelor
I Degree from Pembroke State
I University and his Masters
I Degree from the University of
I Maryland. Professor Dial is
I Chairman of the Board of
I Directors of LRDA.
I The work of LRDA was very
I graphically shown with color
I slides by the speaker. The
I Center for the Arts identifies
I gifted and talented Indian
I children in such areas as
I music (instrumental and vo
I cal). dance, visual arts, dra
I ma, speech, and creative
I writing. During the regular
I academic year, the center
I enrolls approximately ISO
I students throughout the Indi
I an community in Robeson
I County. In addition, the
I Summer Institute enrolls
I about 200 students. This
I Wednesday evening, Decem
I ber 16, the center will present
I a Christmas program in the
I Performing Arts Center at
? PSU.
The Community Food and
I Nutrition Program recently
I established a food co-op
I through which large quanti
I ties of food is purchased at
I reduced prices for poor or low
I income families and senior
I citizens.
I; The Adult Education Pro
I Ject serves people who have
? not completed high school by
I having them meet in evening
I classes after their working
I hours. The project operates
I three adult education centers
I at Res Bennett Community
I Building. Tudor Court Com
I munity Building in Lumber
I ten. and Evans Crossing Fire
? Dept. Building.
The Techincai and Super
? vlsory Assisiaacs Program
I provides guidsnas la budget
| lug family reaeureea and
applying for financial assis
tance, assitance in preparing
applications for rural FmHA
housing, and maintaining up
dated lists of houses available
for low income borrowers and
renters.
The Educational Talent
Search program is designed to
assist youth, ages 14 to 17 to
realize their educational po
tential through counseling
(academic and career), cam
pus visits, financial aid assis
tance, educational and career
information, and special in
terest events.
The Indian Education pro
gram provides day care and
kindergarten programs for
young people. The parents
volunteer to help in this
program and the children put
on an activity program in the
spring and fall.
The Vista program works
with senior citizens. There
are 14 chapters for senior
citizens which meet once a
week. Occasionally they take
trips.
The Comprehensive Em
ployment Training Act funded
through the Dept. of Labor,
trains people for occupations
including machine shop work,
auto mechanics, electrical
work and work in various
industries of the area.
These are but a few of the
many programs which the
LRDA makes available to the
Indians of Robeson County.
Following the program,
announcement was made of
the annual Christinas party
which will take place Tues
day, December 22nd, at the
Town and Country Restau
rant. TMa will be a ladies
night program.
Quests at the meeting were
the following members of the
Robeson Klwanla Club of
Lumberton. Richard DeBeee,
Bill Atkinson (President). BUI
NMoog and Morris Britt.
Presiding at the erneting
was John L Carter. Presi
dent. The invocation waa
given by Theodore Maynor
and singing was lad by
? /S-J i? -JfA Q
UnliOfO VfOQwMt wRR BFB
Pate Lenny, accompanist.
I
? ? I tirt 8Q2 000
$10 *>18,000 Z '
l0000000? CHAWDEPIUTING / \ /
I LUMBEE BANK'S / \f
?_ ANNUAL GROWTH / *a3'5'?ot>
| *$7,435,000
$7,000,000 ^
I6'000'000 ^hSodd ? jf 1
MlL $5,810,000
# .^A $5,228,000
S. 000,000 -# ^'
m $4,698,000
$4,000,000 M- :
I A $3,870,000
$3,000,000 -f
I k $2,642,000
M
wf 1.000,000 M
I f $778,000
" i ' ft