First State Bank History

Larned Background up to July 5, 1896 ● Founders of the Bank - 1900 ● Larned Business - 1904 ● H. H. Reed - World War I ● John Wagner - 1933 ● 1933-1949 ● 1949-1959 ● 1959-1967 ● Reed Peters - 1975 ● New Building - 1989 ● 1986-1996 ● 100 years ● Begin the Next 100 Years ● 2000's

New Building - 1989

Christmas 1976

NEW BANK BUILDING IS BUILT

H.L. Reed, Chairman of the Board at First State Bank, announced that construction on the bank's new building at 6th and Main would start in June of 1974, with completion in the fall of 1975.

The building would be a two-story structure of brick and pre-stressed concrete with a full basement. Among the features of the new building would be a two-story inner lobby with a large sky light, six private offices, conference room, board room, safe deposit vault, and three drive in banking lanes.

The bank's unique and distinctive main entrance would be on 6th street, but another attractive entrance would be on the north along with parking for approximately thirty customer cars. The primary concern throughout the design of the building had been to provide the very best in banking service and convenience. The architects were Lyman, Cobb, and Benson of Garden City. McBride-Dehmer of Wichita was the general contractor.

Construction was set back two weeks when part of the roof on the new construction collapsed on July 30, 1975. Approximately ten cubic yards of newly poured concrete fell from the roof to the second floor when shoring timbers and reinforcing steel gave way beneath the concrete. About twenty tons of material fell to the lower floor. No one was injured by this collapse.

On June 1, 1976, First State Bank employees began the move to the new bank building. An Open House and ribbon cutting were held on Saturday June 12, 1976, welcoming the community into First State Bank's new building.

Patrick A. Seeman began working at First State Bank in September 1976, as the Installment Loan Officer. Following the retirement of Charles Eckert in April of 1981 Patrick was moved to agricultural loans and promoted to Assistant Vice President. In January of 1984 he was again promoted to Vice President. Patrick has served on boards for the Jordaan Library, the 4-H Council, and the Grace Lutheran Church. Hobbies include fishing, hunting, golfing and antiquing.

Patrick is married to the former Laurie Niedens. The Seemans have two children, Shellie Thill of Great Bend and Mike Seeman of Larned.

In 1977, Jimmy Carter was inaugurated as President of the United States.

From 1979 to 1981 Americans were held hostage in Iran.

In 1981, Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as President and "Reagonomics" soon followed.

The first manned space shuttle mission took place in 1981, and we first began to hear about the spread of AIDS "acquired immune deficiency" throughout the world.

AGRICULTURE DOWNFALL OF THE 80'S

It was during the eighties that farmers began to realize that hard work was not going to be enough to survive in agriculture. With double digit inflation, it took only twenty-seven months for interest rates to rise from 9.75% to 21.50%. Land prices went as high as $800 per acre for dryland. President Carter had imposed a grain embargo that caused a large drop in the grain prices. Oil prices were also dropping fast, while the cattle industry had just been hit by months of low prices and was still trying to recover.

The philosophy for success of previous decades had been in hard work, but now that was not enough. Family farms now had to be turned into businesses which required financial understanding in the areas of cash flow, debt structure, and debt levels. Farmers previously had been encouraged by investment tax credits on new equipment purchases, along with the general industry opinion that your must enlarge your operation in order to be profitable in the future. Therefore many farm businesses expanded with debt but not much equity.

Because of the lower incomes resulting from the grain embargo and the higher expenses from newly acquired debt, many farmers and businesses had operating losses that added to their already high debt levels, making it impossible for them to make their payments. As the liquidation of assets began, the supply of equipment and land for sale far exceeded the demand. Prices for both fell sharply. Those who could buy didn't, because they were uncertain of the future farm income levels. Before it was over, land and equipment prices fell by more than half.

First State Bank, like all others, took heavy losses as the sale of collateral did not pay the loans. Many banks in the area failed, and Kansas lost more than one hundred banks to FDIC closure because of insolvency. The Larned community and surrounding areas saw friends and neighbors loose their businesses during these tough times. Some who lived through the depression and the "dirty thirties" said that in many ways the 1980's were even tougher.

First State Bank's directors and staff worked long hours trying to overcome the pressures of high interest rates, low commodity prices and falling collateral values. With God's help, nearly all First State Bank customers, and First State Bank itself survived.

While the pain of the 80's still remains in the minds of many, it was not the first time the people and resources of First State Bank faced great challenges and survived, nor will it be the last.

D. GENE DIKEMAN II

Gene Dikeman became the eleventh President of First State Bank on January 10, 1990. He had joined the staff of First State Bank on December 2, 1985 as a Senior Vice President.

D. Gene Dikeman II was born in Syracuse, Kansas, on November 30, 1952, the son of Darrell and Lois Dikeman. Graduating from Syracuse High School, he then attended the Garden City Community College followed by the Kansas State University where he earned a degree in Business and Finance. Gene also completed the Graduate School of Banking in Madison, Wisconsin.

In 1976, he began working with the Production Credit Association in Garden City, and was employed there until his transfer to the Production Credit Association in Beatrice, Nebraska in 1981. Gene and his family moved to Larned in 1982 where he became a Senior Vice President at the Production Credit Association (PCA). In 1983, he was elected President of the PCA which later in 1983, merged with the PCA in Greensburg, forming the PCA of South Central Kansas.

It was then in 1985, that he moved to First State Bank and later became First State Bank's first non-family President since First State Bank's sixth President, John Wagner.

Gene married Jeanine Miller on February 19, 1977, and they have four daughters, Angela, Meredith, Catherine, and Charlotte.

Dikeman has served and continues to serve in many areas of the community including Past President of the Larned Area Chamber of Commerce, President of the USD 495 School Board, founder of the Pawnee County Economic Development Commission, Treasurer on the Jordaan Memorial Library Board, served on the Larned State Hospital Committee, the Central Kansas Medical Center Board, President of Kiwanis International of Larned, and helped establish Crimestoppers and Neighborhood Watch programs in Larned. He is a 1989 graduate of Leadership Larned, and received the Distinguished Community Service Award in 1992.

Gene was a member of the Governor's Commission on Health Care in 1990, and has served on the Kansas Bankers Association Management Committee, and the Employee Benefits Committee.

Elizabeth Lightfoot has been a valued employee in the bookkeeping department since she joined the bank in 1981. Beth, as she prefers to be called, has three grown children.

The Financial Statement of First State Bank on December 31, 1989, read as follows:

Board of Directors

In 1985 Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union.

President Reagan was inaugurated for a second term as President of the United States.

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